Above Slot Striped Bass Takeover Cape Cod Bay With MFCC Member Bruno Demir

Live from Cape Cod Bay

There's something special about a fishing report that comes to you live — not from a dock at the end of the day with hazy recollections, but from the boat itself, lines in the water, fish being landed in real time. That's exactly what MFCC member Bruno Demir provides in this edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod Podcast presented by Cape & Islands Mitsubishi and The Olde Cape Carwash. 

Here's a full breakdown of everything Bruno shared: where they were, how they were fishing, what was working, what inexplicably wasn't, and what it all means for your next trip out.

The Location

Bruno departed from Sesuit Harbor aboard Captain Derek's Parker, heading out into Cape Cod Bay. The day began in shallower water with a targeted session for winter flounder, which produced three keeper fish — a decent result, though Bruno noted the bite was sluggish on the incoming tide. With a powerful new moon tide running (low enough to leave sailboats and downeast boats grounded in the mud on their way out of the harbor), the flounder seemed to prefer the outgoing water movement rather than the flood.

After the flounder session, the pair made a move further out into the bay, and that's where things got very interesting.

The depth they ended up fishing was 80 to 90 feet of water, with the striped bass suspending in the 30 to 50-foot range of the water column — right in the middle, not on the bottom, and not breaking the surface. This is a crucial detail for any angler planning a similar outing: if you're dragging lures along the bottom or watching for top-water blitzes under birds, you'd have driven right through this school and never known they were there.

Reading the Signs

One of the most valuable takeaways from this report was how Bruno and Derek located the fish. Cape Cod Bay, Bruno noted, was "looking awesome" — birds were everywhere, working over baitfish. However, he was quick to clarify that the stripers were not underneath the birds. They were suspended in the middle of the water column, which means the birds were a general indicator of bait presence, not a pinpoint "fish are here" signal.

The real tool was the sonar, which was lit up with marks. Bruno described going "over a pile again" as they made repeated trolling passes, suggesting the fish were stacked in a defined area — the kind of school that holds position long enough to make pass after pass productive. He encouraged MFCC members to check the MFCC Forum, where he committed to posting the general area so other anglers could get in on the action. If you are reading this post or listening to the podcast, feel free to reach out to Bruno directly for more detailed locations of where the fish were today. 

One telling biological clue: Bruno observed that most of the fish appeared clean — no sea lice — suggesting these weren't fresh arrivals that had just migrated up from the south. These fish had been in the bay for a stretch. Only one fish showed signs of sea lice. That means the bass had likely been feeding in the area for a while and were well-conditioned to the local bait environment. This context matters when choosing your presentation.

Trolling Swimmers and Divers

The method that was putting fish in the boat? Trolling — specifically, running Divers and Rapalas at depth. Bruno described the divers as getting down to approximately 30 to 40 feet below the surface, putting the lures right in the strike zone where the fish were suspended at 40 to 50 feet.

As for color: pink and white were the two productive choices on this particular day, with Bruno describing the bite as "pretty even" between the two. Neither dominated, and both caught fish consistently. When asked if there was a pattern, the honest answer was no — the school was large and aggressive enough that both presentations were drawing strikes on nearly every pass.

The setup was straightforward but effective:

• Lure type: Assorted Divers and Rapalas (larger diver models)
• Target depth: 30–40 feet down
• Water depth: 80–90 feet overall
• Retrieve style: Trolling at consistent slow speed (2-3 knots), making repeated passes over the school
• Colors: Pink and white — both equally productive

The catch rate was remarkable. Bruno described hooking up on "pretty much every pass." He and Captain Derek had already caught and released roughly eight striped bass by the time they called in for the podcast, with fish continuing to hit throughout the conversation. Sizes were running large: one fish measured 31 inches, with others estimated at 36 to 38 inches. Everything was healthy, strong, and released.

Why Won't They Touch the Herring?

Here's where the report gets genuinely fascinating from an angling science perspective.

Bruno had taken advantage of a rare opportunity earlier in the spring: the Town of Harwich issued herring harvest permits for the first time in over 20 years, allowing anglers to take herring from local runs. Bruno harvested fresh herring and brought them out freshly dead as bait, fully expecting the stripers to absolutely crush a fresh, locally sourced herring presented right in front of them.

They didn't touch it.

Not one bite on fresh cut herring. Bruno tried both whole fish and a hook through a halved herring, pitching the bait at fish that were actively following his hooked stripers to the boat. The bass would swim right past the natural bait offering and ignore it completely. He even dropped a herring chunk straight down into the school marked on his sonar — nothing.

His explanation was thoughtful: "I think they're on sand eels." The bass had likely been feeding on a specific forage — sand eels — so consistently that they were keyed in tightly and simply weren't interested in switching to herring, even fresh local herring. This is a classic case of fish becoming conditioned to a particular bait profile in size, action, and probably scent. The swim divers and Rapalas apparently mimicked the sand eel profile well enough to fool them repeatedly, while the herring — despite being perfectly natural forage — fell outside the appetite of these big striped bass. 

The takeaway: match the hatch matters, and it doesn't always mean matching what you think the fish "should" want. Matching what they're actually feeding on, based on observation and local knowledge, is what puts fish in the boat.

A Strong Early Season

Bruno was bullish on the overall season outlook, and the conditions seem to support his optimism. He pointed to the dry spring as a key factor — less rainfall means less runoff, which keeps the water clearer. Cleaner water near the Cape, he argued, attracts baitfish sooner, and the herring run he witnessed this year started about a week earlier than usual. Clear water + early bait = early fish, and early fish that have been feeding and fattening up means big, strong stripers.

He also noted a squid bite happening in Nantucket Sound the previous week, where he filled a full bucket of squid — fresh calamari and excellent bait for upcoming trips. However, he speculated the squid bite may be winding down, as he spotted the Helen H working the bottom for scup off Hyannis — a sign that bottom fish are pushing in and likely displacing squid from inshore areas.

Sea Bass: Another Option Worth Exploring

Bruno briefly touched on the sea bass season, which had just opened in Massachusetts at the time of this report. He noted that the traditional center of the sea bass fishery — Buzzards Bay — has been shifting, with fish moving progressively eastward toward Falmouth and Hyannis. He described the sea bass bite as already active, with big scup mixed in among the bass.

For anglers with kids or anyone who just wants a high-action, locked-and-loaded day on the water, Bruno called it one of his absolute favorite fisheries. "Every drop, you're hooking up," he said — the kind of non-stop action that makes for a perfect family fishing day. Artificial reefs and structure piles away from the main fleet were specifically mentioned as productive locations worth exploring along the south side of Cape Cod. Stay tuned for Bruno's next report later this month which will have more first hand intel on this exciting fishery. 

Key Takeaways for Your Next Trip

To distill everything Bruno shared into actionable guidance:

1. Target Cape Cod Bay — fish are present, the schools are large, and it's early season, meaning they should be holding in the general area.
2. Fish the middle of the water column — these bass are suspended, not on top. In 80–90 feet of water, the strike zone was 40–50 feet down.
3. Troll Divers and Rapalas — run them 30–40 feet deep. Pink and white are both working; either is a safe starting point.
4. Don't assume natural bait will out fish artificial lures — when fish are keyed on a specific forage like sand eels, a well-chosen lure that matches the profile will outperform a chunk of fresh herring.
5. Use your electronics — the school was holding in a defined area. Marking fish on the finder and making repeated trolling passes was the key to consistent hookups.
6. Watch the birds — they won't always tell you the fish are present, but they tell you bait is concentrated, and bait concentration means stripers are somewhere nearby.
7. Consider sea bass — the season is open, fish are moving east, and the bite is active from the reefs and structure off Falmouth and Hyannis.

It's a great time to be fishing Cape Cod. The stripers are healthy, the season is starting strong, and if a live report from two guys actively catching fish in real time is any indication, Cape Cod Bay has the goods this season. Get out there!!!

Tight lines, take care, and thank you for listening!