Preparation is a key to success in life, and fishing is no different. One of the things that makes MFCC special is the members who freely provide their knowledge to help others find and catch more fish – helping each of us prepare for success. Here are a few recent examples.
Cape Cod Bay Striper Strategies
In the Cape Cod Bay 2025 thread, Stephen O'Donnell provides detailed posts about how to effectively fish for stripers in the bay, using different techniques.
Among the gems in his posts, Stephen points out:
- Find the bait = find the fish, because there's not a lot of structure in the bay, the bait is the structure
- Get proficient with electronics, primarily side scan sonar so you can more quickly find fish
- Bass aren't always eating - as summer heat hits, heading out earlier like at 4 or 5 a.m. can be more successful
- With summertime water temperatures in the bay soaring, the incoming tide can be better as it brings in cooler water
- While trolling low and slow can work, trolling hoochies faster, at 6-8 mph can weed out smaller fish to target big bass
- Jigging when the sun is up is a tried-and-true technique, using 3-5 oz bucktails - bouncing off the bottom, as stripers think it is a sand eel or crab burrowing into the sand
- A trip on a charter boat could add years of experience for you
Fly Fishing Tips and Techniques
In the Fly fishing and fly tying 2025 thread, Ken Holt recommends mixing up your retrieve. He mentions that he was ripping in to get a friend on the same spot he was fishing and hooked up using that rapid retrieve rather than the tiny bumps he had been using.
Fly fishing enthusiast Johan Frenje continues to post pictures of large bass and share photos of fly patterns that are working.
Johan Frenje has been successful using the click clack crab fly at night for striped bass.
Bluefin Tuna Season Intel
The 2025 Bluefin Tuna Season thread is a great example of anglers sharing the latest intel as these prized fish enter our waters.
The thread is packed with detailed information indicating where fish are and aren't, and what is working. As pointed out by more than one poster, offshore fish are much more mobile than inshore fish.
Tuna can and will move several miles in a couple of hours, so tuna fishermen can use recent intel as a starting point, knowing that fish may be in the general area.
The tuna thread is one of the most active in the forum, helping provide fellow anglers a starting point for their next trip, as their journeys to the fishing grounds are often long and can be costly. Anglers also post in this thread seeking buddy boats, a great safety measure when fishing far from shore.
Anthony Besaw and fellow MFCC member Chris G teamed up on a highly successful bluefin tuna outing that included this beautiful fish.
Surfcasting Reports and Tips
Dex Chadsey, responding to a request for information about surfcasting on Block Island, wrote a couple of detailed posts that are incredibly informative. In the posts, Dex provides everything from areas to fish and best times for different areas, to how to access remote hot spots.
Unexpected Catches and Encounters
While most surfcasters are seeking stripers or bluefish, a couple of posts in the MFCC Surfcasters - Summer 2025 thread provide a reminder that they can also be on the dinner menu for other species.
Calvin Toran-Sandlin caught a large brown shark on a recent trip to one of his favorite spots. Be sure to check out the images of this giant being expertly handled and safely returned to the water.
MFCC member Calvin Toran-Sandlin expertly handles a large brown shark in a large tide during a recent outing.
Kevin Johndrow also posted a picture of a striper that was chomped on by a seal, leaving only the head and lure intact.
Summer Surfcasting Patterns
Forum surfcasters are reporting that in some areas the nighttime bite for stripers is settling into its usual summer pattern. Live eels and soft plastics are the bait/lures of choice.
Anglers report a lot of sand eels, so lighter colored plastics can work in daytime, while darker colors can work better at night.
One exception to the usual summer pattern is the Outer Cape beaches, which currently seem to be much quieter than the norm, with only a few anglers trying their luck.
Local Fishing Reports
Cape Cod Canal
The Cape Cod Canal 2025 thread shows another example of the MFCC community in action. Robbie Sturtevant caught a schoolie using a plug made by fellow MFCC member Ken Webber.
In the "never know what you are going to see when on the water" category, in the Cape Cod Bay 2025 thread, Colin Fitzgerald reports that a 6-foot sturgeon leaped into the air 20 feet in front of his kayak.
If you're heading into the bay, be sure to check the thread for detailed information on where mackerel are and specific spots in Provincetown holding bass.
Monomoy Area
The Monomoy Fishing 2025 thread includes reports of stripers of all sizes along with fluke and some sea bass.
Stephen Dempsey's report of the first bonito of the season in the rip outside of Stage Harbor is an exciting development for what is hopefully a great season for these aggressive fish.
Bonito are in our waters! Stephen Dempsey's fishing buddy Don ran into a 22" bonito using a black and gold darter on a recent outing to Monomoy.
Fishing from shore from the Morris Island area, Richard O'Brien caught his first striper on a fly rod using a 7" white streamer with a rabbit fur tail. The healthy 28.5" striper is one to remember for Richard.
Richard O'Brien proudly shows his first striper caught on a fly rod. Richard caught the 28.5" bass using a 7" white streamer with a rabbit fur tail.
Buzzards Bay
In the Buzzards Bay 2025 thread, Jim Theodorou reports that he was about a mile away from Robinson's Hole when he spotted birds and churning water below.
The churning water was caused by bluefish tearing through bait. Both of Jim's sons hooked up on first casts, and then they managed to stay on top of blues for 30 minutes.
There haven't been a lot of reports of bluefish in our waters recently, but Jim Theodorou ran into a school of gators that were churning the water chasing bait. Jim's two sons are all smiles showing the blues they caught on their first casts in Buzzards Bay.
North Shore
Bob Nelson posted in the Scituate/Cohasset/Marshfield – 2025 thread that he only had one bite on a recent outing. Bob was drifting live mackerel between the rocks inside Minot for two hours. Lucky for Bob, his single bite resulted in him landing a 45" striper!
Bob Nelson's single hit on a recent outing resulted in this 45" striped bass. Bob caught the cow drifting live mackerel between the rocks inside Minot.
Rhode Island Waters
In the Rhode Island Mid July report thread, Captain Jay Cianciolo reports good fishing for stripers from Narragansett to Block Island, where he reports "lights out fishing" and a biomass of mackerel in the north end that hasn't been there since the 1970s.
From Water to Table
While some members are strictly catch and release, the Cooking the Catch thread has some mouth-watering pictures of freshly caught fish.
Tim Donnelly says you won’t know how good bluefish ceviche is unless you try it!
From Eddy Kooyomjian's stuffed fluke to Anthony Besaw's tuna steaks to Tim Donnelly's bluefish ceviche, Ken Holt's crab cakes and Mark B's striped bass, MFCC members are not only outstanding anglers, but pretty good cooks to boot!
The summer clock is ticking – catch 'em up!
Tight lines!
Dan Nahorney
MFCC Forum
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