New England - Cape Cod and the Islands Fishing Reports

The black sea bass bite has been terrific with numerous big lit-up knuckleheads going into the fish box of Capt. Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters. He has been cod fishing off Coxes Ledge and on one day he had a mixed-bag of every legal species which included some nice cod and some thick fluke. He had been catching his share of tautog in his usual black sea bass haunts and a trip on his boat usually results in bags of fresh fillets for the table.

Travis at Fish Linked Charters said both their 32 Rampage and the 27 Grady will be ready for the first week of May. They specialize in tuna, sharks, cod, stripers, and all species of groundfish. Located in the Wareham River they are close to the Vineyard and a run through the Canal puts them on Stellwagen. Give them a call for details.

Terrific Tommy was at the counter of Maco’s Bait and Tackle and declared the Canal striper fishing was a mix of hot and cold action with the fish staging in the west end and feeding on a myriad of small and newly-hatched baits. There were promising reports of some good fluke along the south side of the Elizabeths and some stripers in and around Woods Hole. Black sea bass are a bit deeper, but the big scup seem to love these conditions. They are waiting for the bonito to make the move from the Vineyard to the mainland.

The Canal bite slowed down a bit as most of the quality fish are coming after sunset and before sunrise. Haydon at Red Top Sporting Goods said there were a few hot spots in the west end of the Canal this week with some quality fish taken on the jigs and the boats trolling the tube and worm further out into the bay. Cape Cod Bay has been providing some action on the tube and worm up around Barnstable, Scorton Creek and Scorton Ledge. Reports of alligator blues from Brewster to the race where boats running wire and Hoochies were hooking up to big blues that were providing some tackle testing aerial displays.

Taylor at Dick’s Bait and Tackle had more reports of bonito in Edgartown Harbor and off the Menemsha jetties that were taking tins of all sorts with a by-catch of frigate mackerel which have been hounding bait all around the island. Matt has been guiding clients along the north shore surf and scratching up slot limit fish with a lot of shorts and the occasional well-deserved jumbo. The offshore bite has been red hot, and Steve was heading offshore with Captain Lee this weekend and hoping to run into the big yellowtail and bigeye working those grounds. Word from the canyons was that the white marlin bite this season has been exceptional which reminds me of the early days running offshore on a swordfish stick boat and taking the occasional white marlin for the captain’s relative who sent it out to be smoked. It was something you had to develop a taste for to fully appreciate.

The fishing in the Canal has been running hot and cold but there are fish moving through and staging at either end, so it requires timing and effort. Jeff from Canal Bait and Tackle said the boats working the tube and worm were catching in Cape Cod Bay and up along the coast towards Plymouth. This week the hot color tubes were orange. The shop has the gear and bait to set you up for working the tubes or casting their signature jigs.

There is a great tuna bite to the east of Chatham and some of the largest tuna are off Crab Ledge and the Sword. Joe at Falmouth Bait and Tackle said there was more positive news about bonito but that was around the Vineyard as the fork tails do not appear to have made their mainland debut yet. This weekend is the onset of the Big Game Battle out of Nantucket which should send a lot of boats offshore to provide some insight as to what is taking place in the canyons. Joe has been fishing Woods Hole where small to slot bass are being taken along with some early tog and big scup.

It’s our pleasure to welcome Captain Bob of Tigger Two charters to the pages of The Fisherman Magazine. Bob is a Cape Codder who will begin his season in pursuit of winter flounder, a species many of our newer readers have never chased or caught. This is your chance. Give the skipper a call for details.

Ben was at The Sports Port with reports of all types of action in the Canal with short stripers while some boats working the Cape Cod Bay and the Barnstable Harbor area are taking legal bass using live mackerel or trolling the tube and worm. Amy has been working both their Osterville and Hyannis shops and buying as much stock as is available to insure customers are satisfied. There were reports of smaller breaking fish off Cotuit and around Lewis Bay and many people are saying these are Spanish mackerel mixed-in with bonito.

It was another hot week for Captain Seamus Muldoon of Jailbreak Charters who has been switching from tuna to stripers in the more distant rips off Monomoy. He has a few openings for tuna and stripers and some fall dates for cod.

Captain Seamus Muldoon of Jailbreak Charters has been working on the boat which has been hauled. He is getting ready for the early black sea bass fishing and early cod before he is heading out to the shoals for a few weeks of great fluke fishing. Last year they found a few holes that produced four double digit doormats up to 13-pounds and numerous slabs in the six to eight pound class. He will also introduce you to your first giant tuna if that is on your agenda. Give him a call.

Captain John of Fish Chatham Charters has been double-dipping into the tuna and striper resources and his customers are smiling. The skipper had been into a hot bite of giant tuna with the occasional recreational-size tuna. The bass fishing has really picked up since the storm went through and left them with some cooler water in his favorite offshore rips.

The fishing has been firing on all cylinders said Colby at the Goose Hummock Shop who has been out chasing bass in and around several productive locations in Cape Cod Bay. The charter boats have been trolling and jigging up slot keepers and larger bass around Billingsgate and at the mouth of Wellfleet Harbor. The tuna fishing has been crazy with so many boats catching or hooking up to tuna of various sizes. The rips off Chatham and further offshore have been giving up keeper bass and the beach guys fishing cut bait have been scoring with numbers of bass from shorts to fish well over the 35-inch maximum.

The word from Simeon at Blackbeard’s Bait and Tackle was of solid fishing from the beaches at Nauset Light and Inlet with plenty of action both on the topwater side and bait on the bottom. Some big bluefish showed up at the Race and around the Path and at Sunken Meadow providing lots of topwater action. Tuna fishermen are in their glories with the amount of giants and recreational bluefin off Crab Ledge and around the Sword. The shop has some of the few combos left in the area and lots of other gear due to Chris placing a huge order when he first took over this spring. Drop in and say hello.

Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters is back in Westport and picked up right where he left off last fall. He has had limits of black sea bass with a few very large specimens and a few legal fluke. The striper fishing has been very good with plenty of shorts and one nice bass in the high 20-pound class. Get in on the action by giving him a call to secure a spot on one of his open boats or book a charter.

Capt. Jason Colby from Little Sister Charters has been contacting all those on his email list about the state of cod and winter flounder fishing in the state. He is taking reservations for spring haddock fishing then Quincy Bay flounder fishing. They also had a good shot of larger stripers move into Boston Harbor before he made his move to Westport and a very good run of black sea bass and tautog. Give him a call to obtain details about arranging a trip.

Chris and Simeon from Blackbeard’s Bait & Tackle send their best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season. They are well stocked with freshwater bait and tackle and plenty of plugs and other stocking stuffers. Give them a call for an update on their winter hours.

We welcome Captain John from Grey Dolphin Charters to The Fisherman report section. The skipper will begin sailing out of Sesuit Harbor for winter flounder which have made a good showing in this area over the past few seasons. Give him a call for details on how to get aboard for some early season action.