Bonito are in our waters in good numbers, cocktail-sized bluefish have appeared, stripers are out there, yellowfin and mahi-mahi are here - it's time to leverage reports from the forum and get fishing!
In the MFCC Surfcasters' Thread - Summer 2025 - most anglers reporting success are fishing at night using either live eels or large plastics.
Ron Essig reported that the slot fish he kept for a recent outing had three 2" green crabs in its stomach, something to also keep in mind if you're heading out in the surf.
See the posts from Ryan Collins with nice-sized bass around the full moon, including a personal best for 2025 that he estimated in the low 40-inch class. Ryan says all were caught before high tide in a boulder field in Cape Cod Bay.
Mike Remlinger posted a picture of good-sized bass he caught on white plastics while enjoying the beautiful moon over Cape Cod Bay. Mike has become quite the angler, but just wondering if he would consider coming out of retirement to shore up the Red Sox' woeful bullpen.
Mike Remlinger caught this nice sized sized striper on white plastics while enjoying the recent full moon over Cape Cod Bay.
Kyle Cannistraro reported a good night with mostly schoolies but a few solid bass in the mix.
Eel Fishing Tips
For those looking to use eels in the surf, Ryan posted a great video in the Unforgettable Cape Cod Striper Under the August Full Moon thread. Ryan offers some good tips to get the eels on the hook and keep them looking enticing for stripers.
Cape Cod Bay Reports
In the Cape Cod Bay 2025 thread, Mike Lawrence reports catching a couple of slot stripers west of Billingsgate. He caught the fish drifting live mackerel an hour before high tide.
Richard Banks also did well at Billingsgate, snapping wire for a solid striper.
Kevin Coady reported a good day off Scorton - landing about 15 fish from 30-36" with the biggest of the day at 42". Kevin trolled tube and worm and jigged with Shimano Shimmerfalls.
Tom Sangermano had a good day in the bay, posting a picture of a 34" bass.
Tom Sangermano has spent time fishing in the bay this summer and caught this solid, 34" striper on a recent outing.
Todd D hit Race Point just before sunrise, catching the end of a big blitz on top. He quickly landed one solid striper, then it went quiet when the sun came up. Later he found big schools of stripers in deep water, enticing a few to hit diamond jigs.
Three Bays Action (Plymouth/Duxbury/Kingston)
In the Three Bays (Plymouth/Duxbury/Kingston) 2025 thread, Jeff Boswell reports several successful recent trips, using a variety of lures to entice bass to hit, from squid imitations to topwater plugs to a pink Hogy. Jeff was successful fishing at sunrise and then as the rips started churning.
Using a pink Hogy in front of waves at an angle, the bass grabbed the lure when he paused it, a good reminder to vary your retrieve.
Jeff also had a successful outing with birds working an area and stripers below chasing small bait. Three-inch paddle tails did the trick, enticing a few schoolies and a couple of slot fish to bite.
Bonito Bonanza
Bones are most certainly in the bay! The Buzzards Bay 2025 thread includes a bunch of reports of success with these speed demons.
William Shine was out fishing from west Falmouth up to the Canal and found bonito chasing bait all along the way. The Hogy in shrimp and white were the lures of choice. William reports he was fishing in anywhere from 10-50 feet of water, and the bonito were quickly moving from the shoreline back out into deeper water.
Chasing the fast moving bonito, William Shine tracked down a few, using a hogy in shrimp and white to entice the bite.
Jim Theodorou reported a great day on the water, leveraging MFCC intel to find bonito south of West Island and just south of the Hog Island channel. He and his son went 5 for 7 with two breaking off near the boat. Epoxy shrimp and silverside lures worked well.
Leveraging MFCC community intel, Jim Theodorou and his son had a great day chasing bonito. Epoxy lures in shrimp and silverside did the trick.
In the Bonito in the Sound thread, not only are there reports of bonito, but Tim Donnelly reported "bottomless" cocktail bluefish west of Park River, a good sign as reports of blues have been spotty at best.
Michael Roberts reports he had a good outing targeting bonito between Dennis Port and South Chatham, with most caught off Harwich Port. Michael reports a ton of bait in the water, catching eight bonito and keeping three for the dinner table.
Reports of bonito out at Martha's Vineyard near Edgartown and in the shadow of Gay Head Light are also in the forum.
Benefiting from the blog post from Amy from Sports Port, Bryan Largay landed bonito on a recent outing. Bryan used three-ounce Joe Baggs poly/menhaden resin jigs, letting them sink for 5-10 seconds then rapidly retrieving. Bryan's favorite way of preparing bonito - seared and sesame encrusted.
Benefiting from the blog post from Amy from Sports Port, Bryan Largay was successful chasing bonito from West Bay, following the coast about four miles north on Monomoy.
Offshore Adventures: Yellowfin and Mahi
With the angling category of bluefin tuna shut down, anglers have switched over to chasing yellowfin and mahi.
In the 2025 Bluefin Tuna Season thread, Patrick Yanovitch reported a successful recent trip south of the lanes, going 5 for 7 with yellowfin and a few mahi.
Patrick Yanovitch was very successful on a recent trip to the lanes, going 5 for 7 with yellow fin and a few mahi-mahi.
Graham Stephens reports running into some solid mahi in the Lanes south of the Dump.
Be sure to check out the amazing drone footage that Mike Moore posted.
South Shore Stars
While the striper season has been a challenge for many anglers, Bob Nelson and James McCluskey seem to be enjoying playing "can you top this" in the Scituate/Cohasset/Marshfield thread.
Using a tube and worm and live mackerel, James McCluskey reports a few days of amazing fishing in Marshfield, needing two hands to hold up one of the stripers he caught.
Needing two hands to hold up this big girl, James McCluskey reports a few days of great fishing in Marshfield. He was most successful using a tube and worm and live mackerel.
Bob Nelson continues his solid year, reporting good fishing off Scituate using live mackerel.
Fishing off Scituate, Bob Nelson continues his solid year with yet another another large striper. Live mackerel was his bait of choice.
For members wondering how a first-time tuna trip might play out, check out Victor Temple's post.
Looking Ahead
If you've been a bit frustrated with your fishing season thus far, the cooler weather and Hurricane Erin are sure to shake things up. Catch 'em up!
Tight lines!
Dan Nahorney
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