The fall run of striped bass is underway on Cape Cod. I just got word of big stripers up to 32 pounds in skinny water, in areas that have not seen big bass since June. Right now is a phenomenal time of the year to be a fishing nut.
This week I plan on fishing three areas on Cape Cod that I believe have a lot of fish-producing potential. Here's where I'll be fishing this week, in no particular order.
1) Cape Cod's National Seashore
The more than 30 miles of sand that stretch from the tip of Provincetown to Chatham, constitute the most wild place to wet a line on Cape Cod. There are no houses on the waterfront, roadways along the shoreline or jetties on the beach. The legendary backside beaches give a glimpse of what all of Cape Cod used to be.
In 1961 president John F. Kennedy signed a bill that protected 43,000 acres of land along Outer Cape Cod from development. This bill established what is now called the National Seashore. I wish I could thank the late president for having the foresight and motivation to create the National Seashore. Had the bill not been passed I believe scenes like the ones in the below video would be much fewer and farther between.
The odds of intercepting a school of striped bass along the backside are not all that good, unless of course you've fished these beaches for decades. The beaches seem to go on forever, which makes locating bass an intimidating task.
If you plan on trying to fish these beaches but don't know where to start, I'd recommend reading this post to get a sense of the type of structure to keep an eye out for. If you can find some good structure you will at least put yourself in a good starting place for intercepting bass that may weigh in excess of 50 pounds.
If the weather cooperates I hope to fish Cape Cod's legendary backside beaches at least once or twice this coming week. Regardless of whether or not I find any bass, I know I will discover some of the most scenic vistas Cape Cod has to offer.
I snapped the below photos yesterday while scouting out different backside beaches. To say I'm "chomping at the bit" would be a big time understatement.
2) Vineyard Sound
I have not fished Vineyard Sound from shore since this past spring. Back then I did not catch any monsters, but I did manage to land a few stripers up to around 20 pounds.
Some of these bass came from rocky areas.
While others were taken around inlets and estuaries.
I think both types of environments offer anglers a good chance at a decent size bass this coming week. Cape Cod's striped bass population has most certainly begun migrating, so expect stripers to start showing up in areas where they haven't been since May and June.
I actually just got a text from a buddy who caught bass up to 32 pounds yesterday evening, in an area that up to now had only held snapper bluefish.
Click here for a few of my favorite areas to try for a big bass from shore in Vineyard Sound.
3) Rocks & Boulder Fields
I've been real fortunate to have intercepted some beautiful fish up to 34 pounds over the past few weeks from rocky areas. These rocky nooks and crannies are dry right now, but I'm hoping that another school of stripers will move back into my honey hole before this season comes to a close.
Rocks and boulders are great structure, and on Cape Cod there are plenty of rocky spots to try. Not every boulder field or rock strewn coast will have fish. Yet if you put in your time and try fishing during different stages of the tide, you may just discover your own rocky honey hole.
Logging in 15 or more hours without a single bite is well worth it, because you never know when your next cast is going to produce a really great fish.
My Surfcasting Plan for this Week
Depending on weather conditions I will probably be migrating to and from the above mentioned areas throughout the course of this week. I may also mix things up and try some different bays and stretches of shoreline if I can find the time. Right now is prime time on Cape Cod for surfcasting for stripers, so I might as well give it 110%.
If you head out fishing this week be sure to keep us posted with how it goes by posting a report in the My Fishing Cape Cod members' forum.
Recently the conversation in the forum has included updates on Cape Cod Bay, the tuna bite east of Chatham, albies in Nantucket Sound and of course the Cape Cod Canal. If you are yet to hop on board as a member and take part in the conversation, you can still join for $1 and access the forum by clicking here.
If all goes well I'll have a new Cape Cod fishing report published here on the blog by noontime on Wednesday. Until then tight lines and have an awesome start to your week!
What do you think? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Take care and tight lines,
Ryan
Hi Ryan, I hope you and the family are hanging in there.(I’m sure you are) I know I must sound like a broken record but I have to comment you on the quality photos appearing on the blog. I realize that you don’t spend an awful lot of time setting up a shot but it sure looks that way. The go pro camera seems to be paying dividends. When you look at some of the shows on t.v. That feature action shots of surfing /skiing motocross etc it’s obvious that they all use the same camera(go pro) some day that technology will put folks like me out of business lol.
Thanks Art. My family and I are trucking along. Thanks so much for all the kinds words. My mom just read through the comments and she really appreciates them all.
I think the Go Pro was a great investment, and I really recommend them. I hope you never go out of business!
The only thing I wish I could improve are the night time shots. I guess that’ll be a challenge, even with the best camera. Something to shoot for next year I suppose.
Speaking of structure … how are those small breakwalls you find on the sandy beaches of the sound (Dennis & Harwich in particular) and the northside? They really don’t extend too far (deep) …
Would I (generally) be better off targeting some of these or targeting the end of a rock jetty at the mouth of Bass River or Herring River (Harwich)?
They don’t extend out too far, but they can be good places to check out during high tide.
Aside from increasing casting distance, at high tide bass will occasionally check out the jetties. In August I nabbed a 30 plus pounder casting an eel into a jetty on the northside.
And when I was younger, we would have a blast catching dozens of schoolies from the jetties. The small fish definitely congregate around them on occasion.
The jetties that border inlets are there for 1 reason. To prevent the current from sweeping in sand and clogging the inlet-which would be bad for boat traffic. So, those jetties are good because there is usually a lot of current in the area, plus it makes fishing the bordering inlet pretty easy.
I think jetties that border inlets are in general more productive than jetties that are just sitting on a typical beach.
Hope things are well Jeff and take care,
Ryan
Hi Ryan – what color braid line do you recommend for fishing during the night at the Canal? I use Spiderwire which is white and appears high contrast. I was thinking this hurts my hookup rate during the day and wasnt sure about how it does at night. Thanks!
I really like the moss green braid from Power Pro.
I’m not a big fan of Spiderwire, especially the white stuff. Like you I feel as if it’s visible (although who knows how the fish feel) plus I don’t think it casts as well as Power Pro.
How’s the Canal been recently for you?