New England - Cape Cod and the Islands Fishing Reports

Tony at Maco’s Bait & Tackle said the weather killed most fishing with the exception of the bass and bonito bite inside the canal. Some of their regular sharpies were also taking some very nice tog inside the canal where they hole up in those dens inside the rip rap. He said there were some bones in mid and upper Buzzards Bay and customers were catching them all the way west to the Sakonnet Point breakwater. Stop in for your bait and up to date information on where the fish are biting locally.

We spoke with Howie at Red Top Sporting Goods who said the action in the canal was almost as good as last week with better numbers of smaller bass along the mainland shore and bonito from smaller specimens to fish in the six pound class. Heavier epoxy jigs were needed to get out to them most of the time but some of them moved in close enough to be fooled by Mag Swim baits and other small swimmers. There were small blues caught off Scusset Beach where schoolies were also feeding in the surf. Tog were hitting all over from the Maritime in the west end to Cleveland’s and around Wings Neck.

We spoke with Steve from Dick’s Bait and Tackle who said now that the Derby is over there is much more attention turned toward the tog fishing. They have crabs, jigs and information as to where along the north shore you can find a bucktooth tog willing to give you all you can handle in those gnarly rockpiles. He had a few bones in the harbor the day before and there are still customers out chasing albies and bones in numerous spots around the island.

It was another very good week in the canal according to Jeff from Canal Bait & Tackle who said the east end from Scusset Beach to the jetties and up inside the canal has been hot all week with some nice bass along with the schoolies breaking. There are mackerel, herring and some whiting being the main attraction and he saw a football field size surface feeding of small bones in the middle of the canal that never lasted very long. Some guys are catching the bones on epoxy jigs and others are using their swim baits to catch the schoolies and bones that come in close. They have some great canal rods in stock so stop in and give one a try.

Christian from Falmouth Bait & Tackle said the creeks, rivers and harbors from Hyannis are giving up schoolies and there are reports of bones from the Falmouth Beaches all the way up along the south shore of the Elizabeths. The tautog fishing has also been very good and they have plenty of green crabs in stock up to this weekend. A few of the surf sharpies were taking some bass tossing eels along the beaches and also from Woods Hole up along the Elizabeth Islands. One of his customers was heading offshore for some catch and release bluefin and whatever wants to eat on the offshore grounds. He believes the seasonal tuna quota was well over the limit and that might negate a few days fishing in December.

We spoke with an upbeat Chris from the Sports Port who told us about the great albie and bonito fishing off Craigville along with stripers dumping out of the rivers and harbors and moving down the Sound coastline. Quite a few of their customers were taking advantage of the great bite in the canal where loads of schoolies, a few slots and some oversized bass were being taken via a variety of methods. There were many customers coming in for green crabs and heading for their favorite rockpiles. A few of them have honey holes inside the numerous cracks and tunnels inside the canal. Freshwater fishing has been excellent with baits and lures taking some big largies and pickerel in nearby ponds. By the way most of the local waters have been stocked with trout. They are open seven days a week.

Call Capt. Rich Antonio of Black Rose Fishing Charters is a skipper who specializes in all sorts of striper and bottom fishing. His loaded Parker is ready to fish numerous locations in your favorite areas. The recent storms have put a damper on many trips so give him a call for an open date and end your season on a high note.

Our friend Danny at the Goose Hummock Shop was busy taking inventory and preparing the fishing department for a large shipment of new inventory. The fishing has been good for those who are able to get out and Ian has been making some night trips after the wind dies down and catching stripers from schoolies to slots in the Cape Cod Bay side rivers, harbors and inlets. The guys heading for the canal are enjoying some great fishing for schoolies, slots and some bonito in the mix as fish are moving down from the Boston area and heading for the east end of the canal. Dan has been freshwater fishing when he has to opportunity, but he laments that the drought has caused many of the ponds to be as low as he has seen them in quite some time. He managed some trout and said the state has made their initial stocking run.

Capt. Jason of Little Sister Charters has been upping his usual routine with limits of good sized tog and while releasing some big sea bass. The skipper does have an ace up his sleeve and that is some great striper fishing along the Westport shoreline and big schools of bonito and albies heading west by his favorite spots. Give him a call and get on his email list. He runs open boat trips that allow you to enjoy a charter at a fraction of the cost.

Capt. Carl of Westport River Outfitters enjoyed a great catch of tog in relatively shallow water in the aftermath of last week’s major blow. The skipper also fished Buzzards Bay this week and found enough tog to make everyone happy. He is still seeing good numbers of bones and breaking schoolies off the Westport coast and breaking fish are moving out of the rivers and up along the north shore of Buzzards Bay. This note was inadvertently omitted from last week’s report so it’s time to inform you that NE Fisherman subscriber Eileen Orel Faxon placed second, ahead of Carl and his daughter Tara in the very competitive Back Eddy contest. Give him a call for some good bottom fishing as there are still some good tog in warmer shallow water.