Where I fish on the south east side of Cape Cod, there are plenty of Striped Bass to be found. The water temperatures are gradually warming, but not so much as to have an effect on the bass fishing. Bluefish can invade an area when the waters warm to above 64 degrees, sending the larger bass to seek a more oxygen enriched environment.
The rips at and around Monomoy Point are where I have been fishing and there is still lots of squid in the area to attract the stripers. Bearses Rip and Stonehorse Shoals have had some really good amounts of fish on them. There is also some really good amounts of boats there ! With the opening of the commercial striped bass season on Sunday you can expect a whole lot more traffic ! The sizes of the fish found there lean to more of the recreational fish. If you want to do well, go early and fish light tackle, and go where the boats aren't.
I have been running the 1000 watt Furuno fish finder on my way out and down to the fishing grounds from Chatham each day, looking for stripers on the bottom and have only seen some scattered fish in the usual areas. I think when the squid moves out the bass will then be keying in on the sand eels again and this will improve things in this area. The exception is some recent schoools of fish on top just south of the 2A bouy area, and around High Bank. These fish are again feeding on squid though.
REALLY NICE SIZED Bluefin Tuna are being caught, with an average fish at 63-65 inches. With the exception being a good inshore bite last week off Nauset Light, the area to the southwest of the "BC" bouy has been productive. There has been huge amounts of weed in the water, so keeping your rigs clean is imperative. There isn't a whole lot of fish being caught, with boats having a good day catching just a couple. The size of these fish alone makes up in quality what we may lack in quantity. Some days are better than others of course, but the guys that do well are paying attention to being on the spot at the right periods in the day, and getting there on time. These spots are small, so pay attention to your coordinates! I see lots of boats running by me at Bearse's out to the bluefin tuna areas at 7 am, and if it was me, I think I would want to have already been fishing for a couple hours by then ?????
Good Luck,
Bruce & Marilyn S
