The days are getting shorter, the nights cooler, but the fishing action is heating up! And while some boats have been pulled from the water, canal and surf anglers are excited that the fall run is in high gear.
Surf Fishing Heats Up
A change of seasons means a "new" thread for the surfcasters - MFCC Surfcasters thread - Fall 2025. The good news is that solid results continue to be reported in the surf.
Jeffrey Cotto had a great night out under the moon with Mike Marcus and Jim Kelly. The trio reported "tons of hits," landing half a dozen 29-to-34-inch stripers on sluggos and needles. Jeff says all of the stripers were well-fed, healthy fish.
Jeff Cotto proudly holds one of the above slot stripers he caught in the surf under the bright moon recently.
Mike Remlinger reports a couple of solid nights in the surf recently - the first with solid numbers of stripers landed and the second with just one fish - but the size of that striper surely made up for the lack of quantity.
Mike Remlinger is all smiles as he needs both hands to hold this well above slot, healthy striper he caught in the surf. The fall run is here and anglers like Mike are posting consistently great results.
Vince Herndon reports successfully working the night shift in an estuary. Vince went through a dozen eels in about an hour to catch solid fish, then finished his best night of the year throwing the bone-colored SP minnow.
Kevin Roarty reports great results, recently finding a big school of bass in the surf hitting a four-inch wooden spook, and then he switched to paddle tails to keep the action going. For the top water action, Kevin used the slow walk-the-dog retrieve, noting that the bass hit on the pause.
Kevin Johndrow reports four hours of constant action in the surf. Kevin ran into a handful of under-slot fish — and ended up landing stripers ranging from under 10 pounds all the way to 40 pounds. As Kevin said about the evening — let the good times roll!
Check out the "new" thread for the surfcasters - MFCC Surfcasters thread - Fall 2025 for more shore fishing updates throughout the weekend and into next week.
Epic Conditions Make for Epic Catches
Be sure to check out Ryan's great write-up of his recent outing in the thread Fall Run Blitz: A Northeast Gale Delivers. For all of us who have looked out the window at not-so-nice weather conditions and convinced ourselves it wasn't worth the effort, Ryan offers compelling evidence to think differently next time.
Ryan Collins is pictured with one of the healthy bass he caught on a rather nasty morning weather wise. Ryan used a white Paddle Tail to catch numerous stripers in the surf.
Ryan's perseverance led him to epic action, landing striper after striper during this great fall run. Ryan used a white Paddle Tail from Monomoy Tackle to catch stripers on cast after cast, the perfect lure to work in the wash where the stripers were gorging themselves on baitfish.
Cape Cod Canal Delivers Outstanding Action
Right on time, the Cape Cod Canal 2025 thread is alive and well with reports of the fall run of stripers passing through and providing some exceptional action.
Mark B posted this great photo of the fall run attracting elbow to elbow anglers trying their luck at the Canal in the Sunrises/Sunsets pictures thread.
Doug Prince timed his outing perfectly, reporting that the Canal went off again on a recent morning at the Tidal Flats near the railroad bridge. Most stripers were well above slot. Fish showed up around 6:30 a.m. and were still there when he left three hours later.
Doug says that quite a few anglers caught multiple fish and that those with the best luck were the long casters. Most fish were caught on White Rockets, but he saw some having luck with mackerel Fish Labs as well.
Be sure to check out Calvin Toran-Sandlin and John Hollenberg's posts in the Canal forum for solid advice on effectively fishing the big ditch. The fall run in the canal can provide epic action if you're prepared for effectively working the tides and fast-moving current.
Albies and Bonito on the Move
Reports in the Albie Fishing 2025 thread are hit or miss, with some boat anglers on top of them and others from shore finding it difficult to run into these speed demons.
Nicholas Shanny recently found Albies outside the Chatham south cut. Nicholas went out early afternoon and hooked up right away using a silver surface eraser. Even though the fish weren't on the surface, he worked the lure across the surface to bring the fish up. The seas were rough with waves cresting up to seven feet at times, compounded by a stiff wind.
Jeff Boswell didn't find any Albies on a recent outing, but he did find bonito popping up from Tashmoo to Edgartown. The fish were scattered and on the move. Bonito were caught on a 3" paddle tail and on an epoxy jig.
Jeff Boswell tracked down this bonito on a recent outing. Jeff reported slow conditions, with plenty of bait in the water, but few hookups.
Peter McLaughlin found bonito in Lackey's Bay area recently. While we hear reports of poor fishing etiquette when a bite is on, Peter was impressed with the other boaters who were cooperating even when lines were crossed and were cheering each time an angler on another boat was tight.
Keep your eyes on the Albie Fishing 2025 thread over the weekend for more updates.
Cape Cod Bay Produces Big Fish
In the Cape Cod Bay 2025 thread, Charlie Lewis reports he had a good weekend out in the bay with big stripers and blues and one large bonito.
An interesting catch was also shared by Chris Park who caught a personal best 34 inch cod in the bay!
Chris Park’s determination resulted in a personal best, a 34-inch, 20-pound cod.
Tim Butler found a consistent topwater bite off of Corporation Beach on a recent morning. Fishing in about 35 feet of water, Tim caught a number of slot and above-slot bass on a dark matter feeder minnow. Tim was also joined by a hungry school of dolphins, making it an enjoyable morning.
Fishing in about 35 feet of water off Corporation Beach, this is one of the stripers Tim Butler caught using a dark matter feeder minnow.
Tautog Fishing Picking Up
In the Tautog Fall 2025 thread, Tim Donnelly did well with tog recently. Tim and Scott Silver headed out of Bass River to Bishop and Clerks, adding that it took awhile to develop the bite, but once they did they were getting hits almost immediately on the drop, ending up with two good fish and a few shorts around 15".
Tim Donnelly displays one of the keeper tautog he caught on a recent trip out of Bass River with fellow MFCC member Scott Silver.
For some great tautog fishing advice, be sure to look at Captain Jason Colby's response to Tim's query in the Tautog Fall 2025 thread.
In the Monomoy Fishing 2025 thread, Cousin Eddie reports finding bluefish in several areas, including Bearses, and also a slot striper on a paddle tail down deep jigging.
Final Bluefin Tuna Before Season Close
While the 2025 Bluefin Tuna Season is now officially closed, anglers got a couple of giants just before the bell. Daniella Rea and Garry Aho landed a 92" giant on a MFCC trip with Captain Cullen of Cape Star.
Daniella Rea and Garry Aho are all smiles after working to land this 92” bluefin tuna on a recent MFCC trip with Captain Cullen of Cape Star.
And Logan Bird landed an 82" giant at the sword. Logan reports tripling up as a feed popped up right next to his boat, hanging on to the tuna on the down rod, which ended up being the 82" giant. Logan reports it was a fishy day out there, ending with a long line to sell fish at Bass River.
Anthony Besaw is pictured with his good sized striper that ate the bone snax in no more than 6” of water in a Buzzards Bay estuary.
In the Buzzards Bay 2025 thread, Anthony Besaw reports the upper bay estuaries had a nice push of fish last week.
The fall fun is in high gear – make time to get in on some of the epic action – catch ‘em up!
Tight lines! 🎣
Dan Nahorney
MFCC Forum
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