Cape Cod's Early Summer Bite
Every June, Cape Cod fishing shifts gears — and this year, the summer solstice has landed right on Father’s Day. Eddy Kooyomjian of Monomoy Tackle provides a detailed look at Buzzards Bay, Nantucket Sound, Cape Cod Bay, and the legendary Monomoy rips.
This transitional phase between late Spring and early Summer on Cape Cod, can provide a lot of species variance in different bodies of water. If you’re trying to decide where to point the boat — or the truck — over the next few weeks, this report is packed with ideas to help set expectations and potentially fill your cooler with some fresh catch.
Sea Bass: Buzzards Bay vs. Nantucket Sound
Black sea bass has been a headline species this spring, but the story on them continues to change since Eddy's late May report. Back then, Buzzards Bay was producing well for he and his family. Since that trip, though, the action has tilted toward Nantucket Sound, and the pattern across both areas is the same: shallow water is loaded with shorts, but keepers require going deep.
Eddy's rule of thumb right now is to target water 50 feet and beyond. Some anglers have pushed even further, running to Vineyard Sound toward Gay Head or Noman’s to find quality fish — a serious boat ride that takes both fuel and a solid weather window to pull off. As water temperatures keep climbing through the rest of June, expect that pattern to intensify, with keeper sea bass continuing to push into deeper structure.
These fish continue to spread out, dispersing biomasses of fish between Buzzards Bay, Vineyard Sound, and Nantucket Sound. It appears the spawning period for sea bass in shallow water (20-40ft) may be concluding and the fish are heading for deeper water. After these fish spawn, they also tend to be less aggressive than earlier in the spring.
Where to find them now: Deeper humps and ledges in Nantucket Sound (50+ feet), with Vineyard Sound and the Gay Head/Noman’s area producing for boats willing to make the long run.
Fluke Fishing Improving
As summer patterns start to take hold on Cape Cod, the fluke fishing is off to a strong start. Eddy pointed to a tremendous squid bite spread across Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound, and Cape Cod Bay that’s been fueling strong early fluke reports in multiple areas.
Captain Bruno Demir, fishing out of Saquatucket Harbor with Captain Derek Barber, has been finding quality fluke south of Nantucket — including a 10-pound-plus fish for Derek and a couple of 8-pounders for Bruno. Doormat fluke caught in the early season further offshore tend to make their way into shallower more accessible waters as we enter July.
For anglers who don’t want to make that full run south, Eddy suggested staging closer to home: Rose and Crown shoal, along with Great Round Shoal and Little Round Shoal south of Monomoy, are producing fish now and should improve through July and August as warming water pushes keeper-class fluke (21 to 24 inches) closer to those southern shoals. Stonehorse and Handkerchief Shoal, just off Monomoy, have also produced some fluke this season — mostly shorts so far, but worth a look as the season progresses.
Best baits and lures:
- Large spoon, three-way rigs (5-inch and up) in squid patterns — glow, white, or red — to match the heavy squid forage
- Blue flash spoon imitating mackerel, a favorite among local charter captains
- Popcorn rig (a traditional high-low setup with jig-heads) for a more classic fluke presentation
Monomoy Rips
Monomoy is the area boat anglers circle on the calendar every June, and for good reason — on a good day, it can produce striped bass, bluefish, fluke, and sea bass all in the same trip. This year has been a slightly different start to the action at Monomoy. Eddy described it as slower to develop than the prior two seasons.
Striped bass and squid are present, but the bite hasn’t reached the intensity seen in recent years, likely due to water temperature and bait availability. There’s also simply less fishing occurring at Monomoy. Cape Cod Bay has been producing such strong action that many anglers have turned their attention to those waters. The weather has also been a factor in preventing people from making regular runs to Monomoy in the wind.
Eddy expects that to change around the Fourth of July, as boat traffic increases and water temperatures climb further. His go-to game plan once things heat up is a classic Monomoy combo trip: work the name shoals early in the morning for striped bass and bluefish — topwater when conditions allow — for about ninety minutes, then run out deeper for fluke and sea bass.
One more species to watch for at Monomoy as June winds down: bonito. Ed noted that nearly every year around this time, reports start trickling in of bonito caught off Monomoy and near Nantucket, and this year is no exception. High-speed trolling around the shoals in late June and into the Fourth of July weekend is worth a shot if bonito are on your radar.
Where to find them now: The name shoals at Monomoy for striped bass, bluefish, and emerging bonito action; deeper water beyond the shoals for fluke and sea bass on the same trip.
Bluefish
Bluefish reports have been thin so far this season, frustrating shore anglers — particularly along the South Side, where customers have been working southwest winds hoping to push bait and blues within casting range. Eddy noted that bluefish are notoriously inconsistent year to year, and while reports have been light, he’s hopeful for better news in the coming weeks.
Cape Cod Bay
Cape Cod Bay continues to be one of the most productive areas on the entire Cape. Eddy references recent reports — including from an MFCC Group Trip with Captain Tyler Putney that pivoted away from a planned Monomoy trip — and fishing Cape Cod Bay instead with extreme success. For anglers willing to trailer a boat and launch in new locations, Cape Cod Bay is worth serious consideration right now, especially compared to a slower-start out at Monomoy.
The Bottom Line
Eddy has been working hard to keep shop orders flowing ahead of Father’s Day and the Fourth of July, restocking topwater lures and jigs. As we head into the heart of summer: sea bass demand deeper water, fluke is riding a strong squid bite with the best of it likely still ahead, Monomoy should heat up around the Fourth of July, and Cape Cod Bay continues to be outstanding for striped bass. Happy Father's Day!
Tight Lines & Take Care! 🎣