Inshore Spot

Billingsgate Shoal

A drowned island of bait and bass. Billingsgate Shoal off Wellfleet, once an island, dries at low tide and rips hard current, stacking sand eels and striped bass in Cape Cod Bay.

Map showing the location of Billingsgate Shoal
Location map · © OpenStreetMap contributors

Billingsgate Shoal, off Wellfleet in Cape Cod Bay, was once an island and now is a vast shoal that dries at low water and rips hard current on the tide. That structure pins sand eels and draws striped bass and bluefish to feed along its edges and rips.

The ground

Fish the edges of the shoal and the rips that form as current sweeps over and around it. Bass hold on the down-current edges where sand eels get funneled.

How to fish it

Match the sand eels with thin soft plastics, jigs and flies, and fish the rips on the moving tide. Mind the depth over the shoal at low water.

Tip Billingsgate is a sand-eel spot, so go thin. When bass are keyed on sand eels along the shoal, a slim jig or soft plastic that matches that needle profile beats a bulky offering every time.

Regulations Striped bass rules apply, see Massachusetts DMF.
From the page to the water

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Note: fishing regulations (size limits, bag limits, seasons, permits) change often. Always confirm current rules with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (saltwater), MassWildlife (freshwater), or NOAA Fisheries (offshore/HMS) before you keep a fish.