As of right now the weather for this week is looking pretty reasonable. Unless the forecast changes (as it often does!) we might receive a day or two of "balmy" southwest winds.
If you want to catch at least one more keeper striper from shore on Cape Cod, then I feel this is the week to do it. In this post I'll share with you a few places worth checking out over the next several days.
The Cape Cod Canal
The rain and north winds of last week really dirtied the Canal up. During the fall and winter, storms like the one we had last week push lots of weed and sediment into the Canal which can make fishing difficult.
Yet folks are persevering and catching. The good news is that I expect the sediment and weed to gradually clear out of the Canal as this week progresses.
At this time of the season the Canal is one of the most reliable bets for a keeper striper, more so even than at other times of the year. Not only does the Canal harbor lots of food for striped bass, but it's a "shortcut" which bass can take on the migration south.
It's like a 1-2 punch if you're a striped bass.
Most of the fish recently at the Canal have been on the small side but there have been some bigger bass mixed in. Several anglers I know have even been spooled. We're not sure if they were spooled by a bass, tuna or something else.
Historically, some of the largest striped bass ever caught in the Canal have been taken during the last week in October. According to Jeff Miller from Canal Bait & Tackle, the largest bass ever weighed at his shop was a 60 pounder caught on Halloween.
MFCC members can read the details of what's going on right now at the Canal in Jeff's latest Cape Cod Canal fishing report published yesterday.
In his report Jeff shares the 2 lures which have been working best at the Ditch, and also provides some helpful info about the one Canal area which has been producing bass into the 30 pound class.
For day-to-day Canal updates be sure to keep tabs on the friendly conversation in our forum. And if you're not yet an MFCC member, then no worries! I can still send you some of my best and most helpful Canal-related posts, reports and videos via email.
Enter your first name and email here and I'll send you one free and helpful Canal-related email per week for the next several weeks.
Protected Areas Like Bays, Coves, Harbors and Estuaries
Most of the surfcasting I have personally done this fall has been along Cape Cod's exposed beachfronts. However this week I feel my odds would be better if I focused on fishing "protected" places like bays, coves, harbors and estuaries.
These are the places where I caught my first schoolies of the season, way back during April and May. Only difference now is that some of these places are harboring much bigger bass than what I was catching 6 months ago.
What's attracted these big bass to these shallow and protected areas you ask?
Adult pogies...
There seems to be more adult pogies around this fall than in recent years, which is a great thing for us striped bass addicts. If you can find a bay chock full of pogies, you can rest assured that larger stripers are probably in the same bay.
There are many coves and estuaries in Buzzard's Bay, Plymouth Bay, Duxbury Bay, Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sound which are holding adult pogies right now.
Not only is this a good opportunity for surfcasters, but these protected bays, harbors, estuaries and coves are perfect for small boat anglers or folks who enjoy fishing from kayaks. Because the bass are focused on big pogies, I would recommend using big swimming plugs like Dannys and Sebile Magic Swimmers.
Snagging a pogie with a treble hook and then live-lining it would also be a great idea. Regardless, catching a big bass on a surface swimming plug or live pogie is about as exciting as it gets!
I feel that catching a big striper in a tucked away bay or estuary is an opportunity that doesn't come along all that often. I have a feeling that exploring the Cape's back bays and harbors on foot and via the kayak may be my choice this week.
More detailed information on some specific bays and harbors worth checking out can be found by reading this forum thread.
In Conclusion & Looking Forward
You still have a good chance at catching a keeper striped bass from shore on Cape Cod. However no matter how you look at it, time is definitely dwindling in the 2014 striped bass fishing season.
So let's make the most of it!
Definitely let me know what you think, and post any questions you may have, in the comments below.
I am happy to help!
Tight lines and take care,
Ryan
I’m going up to Provincetown for the week with my soon to be wife. Also looking forward to doing some fishing while I’m out there. I’m coming up from CT and am not familiar with the area. Any suggestions on bass or blue surf spot that may be productive this time of year??? Any info would be appreciated…
Thanks
Mark
Sounds like a terrific trip Mark!
If the NE winds die down, you could try Race Point from shore for bass and bluefish. Park at the Race Point beach parking lot and cast/walk 2 miles down to the left towards the very tip of Cape Cod. I like dead low tide at the very tip.
Any of the “hollows” in the Ptown and Truro area can be worth a check too, if sea conditions allow. For example Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro and any other ocean beach parking lot is worth exploring.
If sea conditions are too difficult on the ocean side, check out the Bay side beaches. For example Herring Cove in Ptown at high tide is a good idea. Give the area south of Ptown on the bay side a look on Google Earth and you can find plenty of shoreline, protected from the NE winds.
It’s late in the season so I’m not really getting much recent intel on how the fishing is in that area, but I still think you’ll have fun exploring around.
🙂
Thanks for the suggestions. Did a little scouting today with your help. Waves & wind definately made a sight to see but still pretty unbearable to fish after weekend storm, so I’ll probably venture out in the morning. Either way, as always “Bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.”
Mark
I like your attitude Mark.
If you don’t hit ’em hard this time you most certainly will in time with an attitude like that!
Best – Ryan
Hi, Ryan. Hey, these “pogies” are not a familiar entity to a landlubber such as me. (upstate NY, lake effect snow country) In Norwalk Harbor, Ct, we use trebles to catch bunker, for live lining and chunks around the Islands off Norwalk for Blues and Stripers. They look just like the picture you showed, of Pogies. Are they one and the same? I don’t even know what the real name of the fish that we call “bunker” is.
Hey Keith! Yes pogies and bunker are one in the same.
I believe a more “scientific” name for pogies/bunker would be menhaden.
Thanks for chiming in!
I did live lined a pogie past weekend and I believe there were a couple hits when the fish jumped out of the water and pulled hard on the line. I believe that the striper decided to take on another pogie since were so manny around. I could see the stripers on the water but they would not commit on any of the lures that I tried including top water plugs or Sebile swimmers. Once in a while I would see a splash from a striper going after bait on top of the water. Fun to watch all the action!
It is fun to watch and I bet you’ll hook a few soon if you keep at it Emil.
How big do you think were the stripers?
I would say 18″ to 30″. It was night though and not easy to spot them since I was fishing from the river’s bank. I could only see them from the bridge.
Gotcha. Always fun to see!
I was one of those guys that got spooled and I had a tight drag. This fish was extremely heavy, I had to straight line the rod. I thought I had him turned but he tool off again with the strong current and I just ran out of line. Sill haven’t gotten over it.
Oh man Dave that is devastating! Definitely going to take some time to get over that one.
Did you hook up using bait or artificial?
I have seen several seals in canal the last week. Some of those spoolings could have been those pests. Good recommendations.
Good point Paul. I’ve seen seals take a live eel before and it’s pretty impossible to stop a 500 pound seal when that happens. Not a good situation.