Fishing The Flats Of Cape Cod Bay

Cape Cod Bay has some of the most expansive sand flats in all the world. If you look on Google Earth, you can clearly see shallow water sand flats running from Barnstable Harbor east, all the way to Eastham, and then north to Wellfleet.

The flats of Cape Cod Bay are some of the most unique environments on the east coast of America. When surrounded by miles of sandbars at low tide, one can feel as if they have been transported to an entirely different planet. 

Spin anglers can do well tossing large lures that imitate herring and mackerel, or they can go ultra light with small soft plastics that mimic sand eels. Folks fishing from boats can live-line mackerel, sight cast, snap wire, or troll plugs and troll tube and worm.

In this post I’ll share with you some simple strategies, areas worth checking out, and other words of wisdom from my personal experience fishing the flats.

Specifically we’ll discuss the importance of tides, safety on the flats, techniques, general areas and other advice I feel will be useful for anyone thinking about fishing and exploring this super cool area of Cape Cod. 

When I was younger, I always associated flats fishing with small 7 foot rods paired with small spinning reels, light pound test line and small soft plastics. I had been led to believe that bass over the flats are incredibly spooky, and usually feed on small bait such as sand eels.

While in many Cape Cod flats fishing scenarios this is certainly true, myself and some members here on My Fishing Cape Cod have in recent years “discovered” that big popping plugs and swimmers, fished on 30 pound braided line with a typical surfcasting setup, can also work - especially during May and June when herring are present in tight to shore. 

Fishing with big plugs over the flats is something worth getting excited about, however it does not seem to work very well on clear, calm and sunny days. Best success over the flats with big plugs seems to come on the rainy, overcast and generally miserable weather days.

The bass seem much more willing to attack big plugs under these conditions. 

I have seen on several occasions in the stretch from Sesuit Harbor east to Rock Harbor, large schools of striped bass coming up over the edge of the flats and into shallow water during the incoming tide. This is quite the sight to say the least!

I believe these schools charge the shallow water flats during the incoming tide because they know they have the tide on their side. The water is only going to get deeper, so the fish seem much more brave. I've also experienced this at Paine's Creek, which is the area shown in the photo at the top of this post.

Couple an incoming tide with some overcast, windy and generally miserable conditions and you have a recipe for good plugging. This is exactly what happened to me during Memorial Day Weekend of 2021. You can learn more by watching the video below.

During the last part of the outgoing tide I will walk out onto the flats and focus on the deep channels and troughs, which can be easily located on Google Earth. Believe it or not, stripers will literally get stuck in some of these troughs and tidal pools, where they will be forced to wait out the tide. 

In other channels, the bass use the deep water as a highway. As the tide recedes all the life in the area is forced off the shallow water sandbars and into the deeper channels.

I believe most of the bass use the troughs as a highway out into Cape Cod Bay where they will often congregate during low tide just beyond the edge of the flats. Other fish hang behind, never leaving the flats, and instead roam the channels and cuts during the low portion of the tide. 

Fishing these channels and troughs is really fun and unique. I have literally stood on bare sand more than a half mile from shore, catching fish left and right, in a spot which at high tide has 10 feet of water above it. Fishing a spot like this can be productive, but it is also risky.

Never-ever stay too long, and always retreat back to shore as soon as the incoming tide begins. No fish is worth risking your life. Alternatively you can use a small skiff or kayak to extend your fishing time out on these far off sandbars. 

During high tide you can use your boat to cruise over the flats and sight cast to the schools. Live mackerel is one of the best baits for fooling these often finicky fish, and fortunately mackerel are often easy to come by in Cape Cod Bay during the month of June.

During 2017 I also had good success over the flats in my boat by “speed trolling” Sebile Magic Swimmers right along the surface. You can also tube and worm, or jig wire along the edge of the flats. This is where the shallow sandbars suddenly drop off into deeper water.

Follow the contour and keep an eye on your sonar. There is almost always at least a fish or two hanging along the edge, especially during June. 

Tide & Safety on the Flats

The most important factor when fishing over the flats is the stage of the tide. In the past my best success fishing the shallow water has occurred during the first part of the incoming tide. I think the fish are well aware that they have the tide at their backs, which makes heading into shallow water safer for the fish. With an incoming tide, there is no chance of fish getting stranded on the sand or in a tidal pool.

Kayaks as well as skiffs work best when fishing over the flats. However I typically find myself in my 21 foot boat, anchoring up wherever is appropriate and then walking to where I want to fish.  When doing this you really have to understand how the tide moves in the area you are fishing.  It is very easy to make a mistake if you are not familiar with the area and either have your boat high and dry on the sand, or out of reach when the tide comes in.

Fishing the flats can be one of the most dangerous types of fishing a recreational fisher can do off Cape Cod. It is extremely important to not get careless when wading any area-especially a tidal flat. A mile of sandbar can be completely underwater within an hour in many areas.

Said another way, a completely exposed high and dry section of sand at low tide could be covered by 10-15 feet of water at high tide. Add in the fact that the sandbars undulate in depth, and that it is often possible to walk a mile or more straight out to see, and you have a potentially fatal fishing situation.

Having a strong understanding of the tide, wearing a life jacket, fishing with a buddy, having a hand held GPS AND a regular old compass is very important.  Not taking any chances is a very good idea when wading over the flats.  Be prepared to walk back to your boat, kayak or parking lot in dense fog - because there's a decent chance you will have to.

You must also resist the urge to push the limit, and stay on an offshore sandbar when the tide has turned and begun coming back in. This can be easier said than done, especially when the fishing is on fire, but you have to play it safe.

What happens often is guys will assume they have plenty of time left on the flats because they might be wading in say, waist deep water. However, this does not guarantee that the water closer to shore will be shallower!

In many spots the water is actually deeper the closer you get to shore. This is due to undulations in the sandbar which are difficult to detect. It is very possible that the water closer to shore is neck deep, even though the water you are wading in farther offshore is only waist deep.

Spots to Access the Flats

There are plenty of places from which anglers can access the flats of Cape Cod Bay. Some are easy to access with plenty of parking, while others are a bit more secretive with more challenging access.

Some of these spots I have personally been to and fished from, while others I am yet to personally visit.

Be sure to do a little research beforehand to check the latest parking regulations if you plan on fishing these areas during the height of the season. All of these spots will be far less busy and parking much easier before 8am and after 5pm, and before Memorial Day and after Labor Day.

If you're a member of My Fishing Cape Cod, you can view 3 of the more popular places to access the flats by viewing the maps below.