Fishing Slow In Some Areas, But The Canal Remains Consistent

With the fishing apparently slowing a bit in some locations, the one spot that continues to be producing pretty consistently is the Canal. While most of the Canal shops said things aren’t as wild and wide open as they were late last week during the start of the early morning, east-turning tides, there are still some good stripers being caught.
First off, congratulations go to Liz Stromeyer at Red Top in Buzzards Bay, who was leading the Stan Gibbs tournament as of Tuesday with a beautiful 51-inch, 45.25-pound fish, a personal best reported Bruce Miller at Canal Bait & Tackle in Sagamore, the official weigh station for the event.
This event is for charter members only, who number 165 this year, Bruce said. The tournament was originated by Dave Karp and Robbie Willis and celebrates the Canal legend and his legacy of plug making and Big Ditch angling prowess. There have been a number of 30-pound fish weighed in as well as a few 40s outside of Liz’s.
To give you an idea about how good the Canal had been, Amy Wrightson at the Sports Port in Hyannis started her report with news of big fish there. One angler who weighed in a 41-pounder at her shop came back to tell of a cow over 50 pounds that he caught more recently. Live eels at night have been doing the trick for him.
Mike Thomas at M & D’s in Wareham said that despite the presence of plenty of pogies in the Canal, along with silversides, squid, and spike mackerel, things were a bit slower earlier this week, most likely a function of the tides that aren’t ideal for early morning surface shows. Most pluggers have their eyes on the middle of next week when the next good set of tides begin to shape up.

Stick To What Works Best For You

When I called Red Top earlier this week, Don Stromeyer told me that he was out of yellow pencil poppers, the type of plug that Liz used to catch her fish while working an area toward the west end of the land cut. We also shared thoughts on why a certain plug works for one angler and not another and concurred that it probably has to do with confidence in and familiarity with a particular piece of wood or plastic; once an individual has caught fish with one plug and knows how to work it, he or she will most likely quickly drop another choice recommended by someone else when it doesn’t produce.
Although one of the most challenging and rewarding methods of catching fish in the Canal is throwing topwater plugs, the reality is that jigs account for more fish, whether they are bucktails, metals, or any number of jighead/soft plastic combinations, including Ron-Z’s, Sluggos, and Hogy’s.
The extent of surface activity each day in the Canal can be limited, although it is often extended in the fall as the fish are migrating and looking to feed heavily; still, during the daylight hours, folks often turn to jigging when the fish are holding deep. One of the keys is to carry a wide selection of jig weights, all the way up to five ounces and more, as you have to get down to the fish.
Besides jigs, many of the shops also said that cut bait is working, but therein lies a problem, as Bob “Bull” Mackinnon from Red Top explained to me on Sunday. Last weekend there were an incredible number of folks plugging the Ditch, often in close quarters, and as long as everyone cooperated and worked in concert, there were no problems. But apparently some not-so-regulars elected to try and fish bait by casting over the heads of the pluggers from the access road above.
Dick Hopwood at Maco’s in Buzzards Bay said that folks are doing well working pogies around the west entrance and that some good fish are also being caught in Cape Cod Bay, particularly around Scorton Ledge on tubes.
According to Bruce Miller, there is still a nice school on the ledge, but he pointed out that they are moving between there and the Fingers and the parking lot. Some boaters are finding good results one day at Scorton and then it is dead the following tide and assume that the fish are finally gone, which is a mistake just yet, Bruce pointed out. You simply need to determine where they have gone.
Bass to 31 pounds have been caught off Sandy Neck, Bruce continued, and both plugs and bait are working.
Jeff Clabault from Forestdale Bait & Tackle on Route 130 said there are more small fish in the Sandwich creeks, with the action overall pretty slow. As is true of many other spots, there is definitely a lack of peanut bunker around, the small bait that in the past has induced some incredible blitzes; why baby pogies aren’t around in the numbers we expect is ironic since there are more adults around this year, although with a seining operation prepared to get back in action in the Bay State, that could change quickly.

Tautog Fishing On The Upswing

Tautog fishing is definitely on the upswing in Buzzard Bay, Dick Hopwood advised, with good numbers of fish in the four- to five-pound class being caught by both recreational and commercial boats. There are some good aggregations of toggies off Old Silver Beach, around Cleveland Ledge, and Wings Neck, with plenty of sea bass mixed in as well and they are often taking green crabs intended for the blackfish.
Tim Folan at Bad Fish Outfitters on Route 28A in North Falmouth told of some good fishing around Phinneys Harbor on everything from soft plastics to pogies, especially at night.
Over in Wareham, there are bluefish anywhere from three to 14 pounds harassing the schools of pogies they have in the rivers, reported Mike Thomas.
Sea bass fishing is very good around the wrecks off the Vineyard, explained Jim Young at Eastman’s Sport & Tackle in Falmouth, but the bass fishing along the Elizabeths and around Gay Head and Squibnocket on the Vineyard has slowed. Even live and fresh dead pogies haven’t been bailing fish as they were, and the daily winning boat bass in the Derby on Monday was just over 19 pounds, so perhaps what I like to call the resident fish around these locales are moving south, with hopefully new schools moving in to provide increased action.
From the southside shores, there is definitely some upswing in action pointed out Bob Lewis at Green Pond Fish ‘n Gear in East Falmouth. Live eels and cut bait (fresh pogies are tops, followed by mackerel and sea herring) are doing the trick at night around Waquoit, Menauhant, and Surf Drive. There have also been a few blues caught on bait at South Cape Beach, with a few schoolies mixed in.
There are some nice bluefish on the shoals in Nantucket Sound, and Middle Ground continues to produce some bass, Bob said, and there are some tautog being taken around Woods Hole and Nobska as well.
Heading east, the word regarding Popponesset from Jeff Clabault is that there are mostly smaller fish feeding on smaller bait, with adult pogies tougher to come by. An occasional fish over 30 inches is being caught, but generally the action is on schoolies that are willing to take surface plugs toward dusk, but after dark, Jeff has been enjoying success with shad body plastics and the Yo-zuri MagMinnow. Jeff also added that even though a main feature of the shads is the paddle tail, he has enjoyed better catches fishing the deeper, faster water of the channel on a bait with the tail cut off and fishing right next to someone with an unaltered plastic of the same color, size, and brand.
Amy Wrightson wasn’t sure if the pogies around Cotuit and Hyannis have moved on or just scattered, but they have been tougher to locate. Those anglers who find them are taking the occasional bass up to 20 pounds in the Three Bays area of Cotuit and Osterville, with some big bluefish also being caught off Dowses Beach.

Anglers Land Bluefin Using White Sluggo

On the tuna front, Sheila Miller at Canal Bait & Tackle said they weighed in a nice 115-pound bluefin caught from Stellwagen on a white Sluggo. Bruce Miller interjected that the two young anglers who brought the fish in had lost a number earlier in the season and really took their time with this one, ultimately being rewarded for their efforts.
Richard Zagura, the new owner of Falmouth Bait & Tackle in Teaticket, called in to say that Team Gunsmoke told of six miles of birds, sand eels, and tuna in the 150- to 200-pound class off the BC buoy east of Chatham on Monday, making for an epic day.
Tim Folan also said that Captain Kevin Malone had a solid trip fishing Atlantis Canyon, returning with several mahi-mahi and a nice 100-plus pound yellowfin. Ballyhoo, both skirted and naked, worked best on the tuna, as well as cedar plugs, and Tim said they could have had many more mahi but wanted tuna instead.