Sea Bass, Scup, and Stripers in the Rips
Summer may not be officially here yet, but the fishing around Cape Cod is heating up fast. With water temperatures in Nantucket Sound already around 62 degrees as we close out May, the bite is on across multiple species.
MFCC Member Bruno Demir of Cape & Islands Mitsubishi and The Olde Cape Carwash joins us live from the deck of his boat, The Gaviota, to discuss his successful trip with his two sons last night!
Black Sea Bass
If there's one species dominating the sounds off Cape Cod this week, it's black sea bass. The season opened roughly two weeks ago, and by all accounts, after a slow first weekend, the fish have moved into the area and are feeding more aggressively — likely due in large part to their spring spawning behavior. When sea bass are in spawn mode, they get territorial and competitive, meaning they'll hit almost anything that drops in front of them. That makes for some of the most fun, action-packed fishing of the year, especially if you're bringing kids along.
Bruno and his two young sons launched last night out of Saquatucket Harbor and started to head west. They immediately ran into fish in the 50 foot depth and described the action as "lock and load every time." The family put together a quality haul of sea bass and BIG "hubcap" size scup for the dinner table.
Where to Find Them
The traditional hotspot for black sea bass around Cape Cod has always been Buzzards Bay, and it still produces — but here's the big shift that anglers need to pay attention to: the black sea bass biomass has been expanding steadily over the past three to four years according to Bruno and his cousin Eddy Kooyomjian of Monomoy Tackle. The biomasses of sea bass are pushing further east and spreading across Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sound in significant numbers. Areas off Hyannis and points east toward Saquatucket are now holding fish in concentrations that rival anything you'd find in Buzzards Bay.
Bruno specifically mentioned the zone between Saquatucket and Hyannis as his productive ground, fishing in approximately 50 to 60 feet of water. This is a key detail. While plenty of sea bass can still be caught in shallower 25-to-30-foot depths, the trend this season — and the pattern that seems to be producing the most consistent keeper-size fish — is targeting deeper structure out in the sounds.
One productive location mentioned was west of Handkerchief Shoal, with Bruno noting that moving farther west from there also gets interesting. The fleet, he noted, is already assembling in the general Hyannis area, which is a reliable sign that the bite is confirmed and repeatable.
However, Bruno has had most of his success keeping away from the larger fleets of boats off Hyannis and spot hoping to locate schools of sea bass with no pressure on them. Yes, it can be challenging at times, but once you locate a spot on the fringe of the fleet or a 1/2 mile away from the fleet, the reward is a consistent aggressive bite.
Ratio of Shorts to Keepers
Like any sea bass fishery early in the season, you'll need to sort through some shorts. Bruno estimated a roughly one-to-six ratio of shorts versus keepers, which is actually quite manageable for this time of year considering he and his sons were catching fish on every drop. He noted that tide plays a role — morning tides have produced larger fish with better frequency. So if you're running out for a dedicated keeper mission to stock your fridge, plan your tide windows accordingly and try to be on the water earlier in the day.
Tactics and Gear
Sea bass are not particularly technical fish to target, which is part of their charm. Bruno's description of the Nantucket Sound bite was straightforward: drop a line in 50-60 feet over productive bottom structure, and you're going to get bit. Standard sea bass rigs — hi-lo bottom rigs baited with squid — remain the bread-and-butter approach. Gulp baits, particularly in white and chartreuse, are also extremely effective and allow you to cover more drops without constantly re-baiting.
Scudetto Jigs tipped with squid or green crab work well too, and can help you target sea bass or tautog if you find productive structure piles holding a variety of bottom species.
The key is finding structure. Sea bass are bottom-huggers that relate to hard bottom, ledges, and rocky relief. Once you find the right depth and structure combination, the action tends to be continuous during an active tide window.
Striped Bass: Signs of Life in the Rips
While black sea bass are the headline act this week, there are some encouraging early-season striper developments worth paying close attention to. Bruno's report was actually the first mention this season of striped bass showing up in the rips around Monomoy.
As Bruno steamed through Nantucket Sound last night, water temperatures were sitting at 62 degrees and climbing quickly, the conditions are aligning for the striper bite to shift into a higher gear. As Bruno noted, there are already fish in close proximity to the sea bass grounds off the south side as well.
Additionally, his network of fellow anglers out of Saquatucket Harbor have been picking up striper reports from the rip areas — not a full-blown blitz situation yet, but enough fish activity to get folks activated.
The Full Moon
Timing is going to be interesting over the next week. We've got a full moon on Sunday night, and the combination of that lunar event with the low pressure system moving through this weekend sets up a potentially electric first week of June. Historically, the full moon periods in late May and early June are some of the most productive times of the year for striped bass on Cape Cod, as fish feeding activity tends to spike and the increased tidal movement concentrates baitfish in predictable locations.
Where and How to Target Them
Anywhere off the tip of Monomoy Island could be a school of hungry feeding bass next week Bruno mentions. He also specifically mentioned that fish have been spotted "pretty close" to where the sea bass action was happening off Hyannis, which means the 50-60 foot depth range in the Hyannis-to-Saquatucket corridor could be worth a few drifts for stripers in between sea bass drops.
Starting next week on the MFCC Podcast as we turn the calendar to June, we will begin our focus on striped bass fishing around Monomoy and lock in on what lures, colors, and tides are producing after the full moon.
Fluke and Tuna on the Horizon
Bruno dropped a few hints about what's coming down the pipeline for Cape Cod anglers. He and his cousin Eddy of Monomoy Tackle are planning a trip out to Nantucket to target giant fluke — the so-called "dinosaurs" or "doormats" — in what they're hoping will be a strong return year after the fishery took some pressure from draggers in recent seasons. If the giants are showing around Nantucket in the coming weeks, that's going to generate a lot of excitement across the Cape fishing community.
Closer to home, Bruno described a seasonal rhythm that Cape Cod anglers know well: the Bay in May, when Cape Cod Bay lights up with stripers and flounder, followed by the sounds heating up with black sea bass, bluefish, and eventually — as summer builds — the tuna run kicks off in earnest. That transition is happening right now, in real time.
Bruno's Black Sea Bass Recipe
No fishing report would be complete without honoring the table fare caught that day, and Bruno delivered a gem. Inspired by his wife Ida's Colombian heritage, it's a Caribbean-style whole fried black sea bass that will change how you think about this fish:
Ingredients: Whole scaled black sea bass (with two to three cuts per side), mashed garlic, salt, fresh lime juice, and a generous amount of cooking oil.
Method: Rub the garlic-salt-lime marinade into the fish and into the cuts. Let it sit and marinate for 15-20 minutes. Get your oil extremely hot — hotter than you think you need. Drop the fish in with no flour, no breading — just the bare, marinated fish. The superheated oil crisps the skin and bones into what Bruno describes as "a giant potato chip," where you can eat every bit of it with nothing wasted. Serve with rice, beans, and plantains.
As Bruno put it: "You think you're in the Caribbean somewhere."
Get Out There After the Storm
This weekend's weather — north-northeast winds at 45-50 knots — is going to keep most boat anglers at the dock. But when conditions improve next week, the combination of a full moon, post-storm bait movement, warming water temperatures, and an already-active bite across multiple species makes for what could be one of the best windows of the early season.
Tight Lines & Take Care!🎣