Early August Report on Giant Bluefin, Bay Stripers, and the Return of the Blues
Sam Mullen of the Goose Hummock Shop and Team Goose Hummock in Orleans says the dog days of summer are in full swing. Sam delivers a wide-ranging report covering everything from a giant bluefin tuna, to the ongoing striped bass bite in Cape Cod Bay, the long-awaited arrival of bluefish, the first bonito of the season, and a strong late-summer bottom fishery for fluke and sea bass.
A Giant Bluefin on a 21-Foot Center Console
Sam's report kicked off with a giant bluefin tuna landed by the Goose Hummock crew on what may be the smallest boat Sam has ever used to bring one to gaff. Fishing with Phil Howarth, his son Jake, and Jake's girlfriend, Sam the team headed out at first light on a 21-foot center console. The crew wasted little time finding fish, hooking up on the giant roughly an hour after leaving the dock while fishing a live mackerel.
The approach was simple and relaxed by giant tuna standards. The team caught a few mackerel and a couple of squid for bait, sent a mackerel out as a live bait, and the fish smoked a far floater rig within the hour. Sam described the fight itself as genuinely relaxed, a welcome change from the drawn-out battles he has experienced on larger fish in the past.
Landing a fish of that size on a 21-footer created its own challenges once the bluefin was boat side. Working in tight quarters with a block and tackle, the crew had to hang the giant halfway out of the boat for the ride back in, since there simply was not room to bring the entire fish aboard. The fish, caught off the backside of the Cape toward the shipping lanes, measured right at 100 inches and weighed in gutted at 485 pounds, a serious giant for any boat, let alone one that size. Sam called it a true team effort and one of the more memorable trips of the season.
Striped Bass Still Holding Strong Inside Cape Cod Bay
Moving to the inshore scene, Sam confirmed that Cape Cod Bay continues to be the go-to zone for striped bass this summer. Normally by this point in the season the bay bite slows into a grind of snapping wire for a couple of fish, but 2026 has been different. The bay has carried a solid bite well into August, with anglers able to skip the wire line altogether and instead rip hoochies or work tube-and-worm rigs at a fast troll. X-Rap style swimbaits have also continued to produce, and there have even been occasional first-light topwater windows for those willing to get out early.
Bait has been the driver behind the sustained action, and it has varied by section of the bay. Off Plymouth and toward the Cape Cod Canal, pogies have been showing in deeper water, roughly 80 to 90 feet, with both bass and giant bluefin keying in on them. But the standout story of the summer has been squid. Sam called 2026 the year of the squid in Cape Cod Bay, describing huge numbers showing up almost overnight and spreading from Provincetown all the way down through the eastern bay and south of Billingsgate. In that corner of the bay especially, working squid imitations has been one of the most consistent ways to connect with bass.
Sam also discussed why the bass seem to be concentrated so heavily in the bay this year rather than spreading out to spots like Monomoy. Sam's theory centers on migration patterns: fish that moved through the canal rather than around the backside of the Cape appear to have settled in and become residential, essentially treating Cape Cod Bay as, in Sam's words, another great lake. That residential pattern, paired with the abundance of bait, has made ports like Sesuit Harbor and Barnstable especially productive, since boats launching from those harbors have easy access to Plymouth, Provincetown, and Wellfleet without a long run.
Bluefish Filling In Around the Bay and the South Side
Bluefish had been notably slow to arrive this season, but Sam reported that they are finally showing up in numbers. Fish have started filtering into Cape Cod Bay off Barnstable and continuing east, while the south side beaches heading toward Monomoy, particularly around the Monomoy flats and into the Harwich area, are seeing a solid influx as well. Southwest wind has been a key trigger, pushing bait and blues into those areas during the traditional late-July-into-August window. Sam pointed back to a memorable blitz he shared with his fishing partner Jake Howarth the previous season and said the current conditions have him expecting another two to three weeks of potentially explosive bluefish action.
With more bluefish in the mix, Sam offered some practical gear tips for anglers who want to target them without losing tackle meant for striped bass. For those trolling heavier setups, wire leader remains an option, but for casting and lighter presentations, Sam prefers 60- to 80-pound fluorocarbon or monofilament leader, which holds up well against a blue's teeth without the hassle of wire. He recommends keeping extra heavy leader material on board so a fresh leader can be tied on quickly once blues move in, minimizing lost plugs. He also suggests using a tactical swivel or clip rather than a direct line-to-lure connection, and considering single hooks to reduce the chances of a blue getting fully wrapped up and to make handling safer.
Bonito In Cape Cod Bay
As the calendar turns toward the classic funny-fish season, Sam confirmed the first real bonito reports of the year. Action began around Monomoy roughly a week before the podcast, right on schedule for the typical late-July-into-early-August window when anglers start watching for these speedy, less finicky cousins of the false albacore. Even more notable, bonito have already started popping up inside Cape Cod Bay itself over the past several days, a sign that funny fish season is arriving on pace with recent years.
Sam noted the bay activity has been concentrated generally toward Billingsgate and areas north of it, describing the sightings as scattered and still in the early, developing stages rather than a tight, dependable push. For anglers chasing bonito, Sam highlighted their willingness to eat topwater poppers, even in relatively shallow water, and noted that while they still require some chasing once a school surfaces, hooking into an active bonito feed can produce some of the most fun light-tackle fishing of the late summer.
A Strong Finish for Fluke and Sea Bass
Rounding out the report, Sam checked in on the bottom fishery, which has been productive across a wide stretch of the Cape this year. Fluke have been showing up even from shore in the Buzzards Bay area, a welcome opportunity for anglers without a boat, while boat anglers around and north of Monomoy have also enjoyed strong fluke fishing. Sam noted that working eight to ten miles southeast of Monomoy, without needing to run all the way to Nantucket, has been a reliable way to find good numbers of fluke this time of year, and that shore anglers at Monomoy can hop from spot to spot along the beach to stay on fish.
Sea bass have been a strong bycatch alongside the fluke, including some larger fish mixed in with commercial striped bass anglers working at night before that fishery reached its quota and closed this week. Recreational black sea bass season has been extended through October 14th, with a two-fish-per-person limit and a 16-inch minimum size, giving anglers plenty of time this fall to fill the freezer with sea bass. With warmer water temperatures persisting into the fall in recent years, Sam expects the sea bass bite to remain strong well into October.
Tight Lines & Take Care!