If you've already put your fishing gear away for the season, then I am hear to tell you that you don't know what you're missing out on!

Over the past week myself and members of the My Fishing Cape Cod community have been busy catching stripers, albies, tuna, tautog and various freshwater species.

In this Cape Cod fishing report we'll cover what I've been finding the past few days, as well as what some of our members have been encountering.

Specifically we'll cover:

Who knows what today's nor' easter will do to the fishing scene, but I for one am very optimistic that the fishing will be solid once the storm blows through. 

Please scroll down to continue reading! 👇

Freshwater Fishing Report | Sunday October 24th

Yesterday and the day before were busy and fun days for me. Between getting chores done around the house and getting some cavities filled-in, I was still able to make time to go fishing.

Freshwater fishing on Cape Cod is a fantastic idea right now as the ponds are far less crowded and the fish are biting with cooler water temperatures. 

Plus the fall foliage is really kicking-in on Cape!

On Sunday I decided to fish a pond on Upper Cape Cod that often produces some "interesting action."

I say interesting because almost exactly one year ago I stumbled across schools of largemouth bass that were holding in extremely shallow water in a bright sunny cove.

Some of you might remember this experience from the October freshwater fishing report which I published last year.

Since that day I have been working hard trying to repeat that action, and I was hopeful that the largemouths would be exhibiting similar behavior this past Sunday.

The largemouths were unfortunately not holding in the shallow water sunny cove. Interestingly I found them on the exact opposite side of the pond where it was much shadier.

I wonder what inspires these fish to move about as they do?

If you have any ideas then I would be happy to hear them, so please leave a comment below.

A bonus from Sunday was a big yellow perch which struck my lure almost right at my feet.

Back during the spring I brought a bunch of yellow perch home and enjoyed them for dinner, but luckily for this yellow my fridge is full of tuna, so I decided to let him go.

I am not the only one who's been enjoying the fall freshwater fishery! 2 year MFCC member Gene Dorney is already on the board this fall with two beautiful brown trout.

The trout in the first photo below actually had some sort of fish sticking out of its' throat when Gene caught it. 😲

To view more freshwater fishing reports and updates, please visit these members' only threads inside our forum:

False Albacore Report | Monday October 25th

Several anglers from around the MFCC Instagram community have experienced some pretty epic albie fishing this late October!

Not all the albie action has been from boats either, as anglers who are fishing from shore and from kayak for albies have been racking up catches too.

From the reports I've been gathering, the albacore have been feeding heavy in this area of Cape Cod over the past week.

Yesterday I awoke in the dark to a pattering of cool rain and a breezy southeast wind. Despite the weather I was inspired to give false albie fishing a try. 

However, with a strong southeast breeze I was not sure exactly where I would try fishing from my kayak. Many areas would be too rough and dangerous to fish.

I opted for this protected harbor which has produced some great albie feeds over the past week. 👇

I launched my kayak just after sunrise and began making my way south through the wind and pouring rain.

Almost instantly I saw a couple albies come slashing through the surface, so I was excited at my chances of having a successful trip.

Bait was everywhere!

I looked down into the water and all around my kayak and noticed three different species of baitfish. The first species was a big ball of peanut bunker in the 3-5 inch range.

There were also large schools of what I believe were silversides, and also some type of extremely small "rain bait" that was only about one inch long.

Despite the incredible amount of bait, the big schools of albies I had been hearing about were nowhere to be found.

The only predators that showed up were what I think were small snapper bluefish which began feeding on the rain bait. I did not have any gear small enough to catch the snappers, so I just sat in my kayak and observed the feed.

It's anyone's guess whether or not the false albacore will remain in this area after the nor' easter blows through. Oftentimes a big storm will mix things up and send the fish packing for southerly waters.

2 year MFCC member Al Stein got into some nice albies this past week from his kayak. 👆 You can read our latest albie updates by visiting the 2021 Bonito & Albie thread.

However, the water temperature yesterday was still very warm.

I did not have a thermometer with me but I could have easily enjoyed a nice swim if I wanted to. I would guess the temperature was still around 63 of 64 degrees which is plenty warm enough for albies.

I hope the albacore stick around into early November, but we will just have to wait and see.

Striped Bass Report

Yesterday morning after packing up my kayak and grabbing an iced coffee, I decided to take a quick ride down to Nobska Lighthouse. 

Nobska light station was established in 1828 with the current structure being built in 1876. The lighthouse has been maintained beautifully and it is a popular spot for wedding photos and postcards.

From the vantage point of Nobska I looked over the cliffs towards the island of Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands.

I did not see any albie or striper blitzes so I decided to call it a trip and head home. Afterall I had a dentist appointment to get to!

Little did I know what was about to happen next...

During October you never know what you may encounter while driving around the area, so I always recommend carrying a fishing rod in your vehicle at all times.

On my way home I passed by many beaches, coves and harbors where I have encountered bass blitzes in the past.

And stumbling upon a blitz is exactly what happened to me as I passed over this well-known bridge. I looked down and the surface of the water was bubbling with bass!

I made a quick detour and drove straight to the action. Within minutes I was down on the rocks and on my first cast I hooked up!

This bass put up a great fight, especially since the current was running. It was a wonderful surprise and it saved me from a skunking.

I made a few more casts and caught one more striper of about the same size. Not bad for a spur of the moment, unexpected 10 minute fishing experience!

The two stripers were caught using the lure below. 👇

This handmade Strategic Angler Bullet has produced lots of stripers, albies and even monster pickerel for me so far this season.

Quite a few of our members from My Fishing Cape Cod have also been having good luck with striped bass over the past 48 hours.

Most of the fish I am seeing have been caught from shore or from the banks of the Cape Cod Canal.

The good news is that even in a nor' easter there are places on Cape Cod which are safe to fish from shore.

Protected coves and harbors can often produce some good fishing during big storms.

For the latest striped bass fishing reports, I would recommend visiting the extremely popular 2021 Surfcasters' Thread.

MFCC member Tim Donnelly caught this great fish yesterday. Here's his photo from the report he shared inside the 2021 Surfcasters' Thread.

Tautog (Blackfish) Report

Fishing for tautog (also known as blackfish) is a great option right now. Well, maybe not right now considering the winds are predicted to blow 40 knots from the northeast, but you catch my drift.

Tautog fishing will be a viable option once the storm blows through, as these fish are often the last to leave our local waters. Early November can produce tautog action as long as the weather cooperates.

I am just now getting around to publishing this report, but earlier in the month on October 12th I joined Joe D'Agostino of Joe Baggs Tackle for a morning of tautog fishing in Rhode Island.

It's difficult for me to leave Cape Cod for any reason, but when Joe asked if I'd be interested in going tautog fishing with him on his boat, I jumped at the opportunity.

The fall tautog fishing season in RI was (and probably still is) in full swing, and I was excited at the prospects of having a successful day with lots of blackfish action!

I also had never gone tautog fishing in Rhode Island before, so I figured this would be a nice opportunity to learn about blackfish in a brand new area.

Aside from plenty of tautog we also caught scup (porgies), black sea bass, and even a keeper-size codfish!

I brought two tautog and the cod home for dinner. While filleting the cod I did find several worms in the fish's flesh which I removed without any issue.

The fillets were delicious, however if you have a squeamish spouse, then I would recommend not mentioning the worms in cod flesh!

For example, my wife Lauren saw me remove one of the worms and I think she almost fainted. Fortunately after some convincing, she still cooked and ate the cod.

While going after tautog with Joe we used 2 ounce Lay-Perfect jigs with green crabs for bait.

The best technique was dropping the jigs to the bottom and waiting until you felt the weight of a big tautog on the line before setting the hook.

In other words, you don't want to set the hook when you are feeling the small "tap, tap, taps" from scup.

Wait until you feel the heavy weight of a tautog running away with the jig, and then set the hook.

I filmed some video of Joe demonstrating the technique which I will publish over the winter as part of an upcoming episode of season 5 of My Fishing Cape Cod TV on NBC Sports Boston. The new season will air during February and March of 2022.

During the trip in Rhode Island with Joe, we were fishing in about 35 feet of water. The bottom was very rocky, as you can clearly see in this underwater video which I filmed during the trip. 👇

Members inside our forum have also been having good luck with tautog so far this fall. 

For example, MFCC member Leslie Kalinowski (pictured below) had a great trip on Saturday October 24th.

Please visit Leslie's post inside our forum to learn more. 

MONSTER Pickerel!

Let's take a moment now and once again return to my fishing adventures from yesterday.

At 3:30pm I found myself at the dentist getting a cavity filled-in. 

The appointment went well and I was done within just 30 minutes. This gave me plenty of time to kill before our usual 7pm dinner at home.

That was when I realized that my route home would bring me right past a small freshwater pond in the town of Bourne, where I used to fish religiously as a kid.

It had been years since I fished this spot, so I decided to give it a try. 

For a rod and reel I was using a Tsunami Saltx4000 with 30 pound braid, paired with a 7 foot Shimano rod that is rated for up to 1.5 ounces.

This rod and reel is clearly overkill for pond fishing, but it's all I had with me.

Believe it or not, I would soon be very glad that I was using this heavier setup, because little did I know I was about to catch a freshwater monster.

On my first cast I fired my Strategic Angler Bullet out into the center of the small pond.

I began my retrieve, reeling the Bullet through the water and then pausing quickly to allow the lure to flutter slowly down through the water column. 

About midway back to shore the lure got slammed by a big fish, and my rod was bent over as if I had hooked into a striper!

A small amount of line was even pulled against my relatively tight drag. Whatever I had hooked into was much, much bigger than anything I had expected to catch.

I muscled the fish away from weeds and downed trees and soon had the "monster" right in front of me. It was a huge pickerel and was easily the biggest pickerel I have caught in the last several years, if not decade!

The experience proved yet again the value of always having a fishing rod with you wherever you go. I only fished for about 20 minutes, but I ended up catching a couple more monster pickerel, and I enjoyed a beautiful evening surrounded by fall foliage.

The best benefit was that I just felt great overall as a result of fishing a spot I have not fished since I was a teenager. It felt so good to "be back home", literally standing on the same dirt where I learned how to fish so many years ago.

Bluefin Tuna Fishing Report

Looking forward it seems like we might get another weather window for bluefin tuna fishing once this nor' easter passes through. The longterm forecast for the week after Halloween is predicting sunny skies with a breeze from the west.

If the forecast holds, then plenty of anglers from MFCC will get a chance to get out tuna fishing, whether it be on Cape Cod Bay, on Stellwagen Bank, or east of the Cape.

3 year My Fishing Cape Cod member Justin Demers had great luck with rec-size bluefin tuna during last week's weather window. You can read more about Justin's trip here.

A few days ago I received a shipment of rigged ballyhoo from Florida that I hope to troll for tuna. During the fall trolling ballyhoo at 5-6mph can be a great technique because there are often lots of halfbeaks around.

Tuna love feeding on halfbeaks and it often produces incredible topwater action, with tunas airing out, sometimes leaping 5 or more feet straight clear out of the water.

For the latest tuna fishing reports, please keep tabs on the 2021 Bluefin Tuna thread inside our forum.

November Fishing Forecast

I understand that at this time of the year, many people are back to school, back at work, or are just very busy.

Nevertheless, if you remember to pack a fishing rod then you could at any moment stumble across some great fishing right now throughout the Cape Cod region.

Looking forward I am very excited to fish November for freshwater species, stripers, tuna, tautog and perhaps even a few straggler false albacore.

The longterm forecast is looking good, so hopefully it will come to fruition.

In the meantime we are here on MFCC ready to help you make the most of your fishing trips, and to provide you with the inspiration required to get out there and give it a shot!

Please keep me posted with how things are going, and if you have not already signed up as a member and started posting in our forum, then maybe now is the time.

I really enjoy reading everyone's reports, and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what happens next. 

Tight lines and please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below! 👇