By Will Mother Nature turn down the fan already! It’s been windy windy for many of the days leading to cancelled or rescheduled trips, and even the “flat calm” days have turned sporty but in some cases worth it.
The red hot Buzzards Bay bite has slowed significantly and has been replaced with the reward of big fish, if you put in the time and effort. Hearing stories of one fish in eight hours of fishing with no action the rest of the time, but in the end pulling up a 50+ lber! The blitz action has been sporadic at best, and finding birds working is a game or radar or running long distances to find them. Creek mouths on the outgoing seem to be the best bet but can be insane one tide, and completely dead the next.
Cape Cod Bay is starting to turn on and should be going well these coming weeks. We got out on a sporty day and ended up with a good number of stripers, all in the 28-32″ range. That day they were keyed in on mackerel and we were able to get them on either Hogy Pro Tails bouncing off the bottom or in some cases getting them to rise to the surface to poppers and walk the dog lures. The flats were blown out regretfully, but there was some schoolies harassing the sand eels schools.
Nantucket & Vineyard sound has been the best bets these last weeks with the rips coming alive in sometimes epic ways and blitzes of both bluefish and stripers all the way along the mainland coast. We’ve also come across some early morning blitzes along the Elizabeth islands
The Black Sea Bass bite is still on fire. Buzzards Bay has some nice schools but not in the usual spots. In many cases it means finding hard bottom with features, and trolling along until the fish finder lights up and you’re good from there. Nantucket sound and the rock piles along the Vineyard have been hit or miss, but once you find one that’s on at that moment you can limit out on big fish in no time!
Tight Lines,
– Captain Nick