AJ's Rainy Weekend Report
Welcome to another edition of the My Fishing Cape Cod Podcast presented by Cape & Islands Mitsubishi and The Olde Cape Carwash. In this podcast, we are joined by AJ Coots of Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay. AJ provides encouraging offshore reports for pelagic species to the south, a stormy Cape Cod Canal fishing forecast, and important reminders about fishing Buzzards Bay this fall.
Wahoo Bite Develops South of the Islands
The most interesting story of the week may not be inshore at all. According to AJ, Red Top sold out of every ballyhoo they had on the shelf heading into the weekend, driven by chatter that wahoo have shown up on a contour line closer to shore than anglers are used to seeing them.
MFCC member, Bruno Demir backed that report up earlier this weekend with a firsthand account of a beautiful wahoo he took down at the southern corner of the Dump. By Bruno's count, that catch made him one of six confirmed wahoo landed over the past couple of weeks, which is enough of a pattern for offshore anglers to start planning trips around it.
AJ noted the rumor mill has the fish pushing in as close as the Claw, which would put them well within range for boats that don't want to run all the way to the south. The timing lines up with a natural lull in Cape Cod Canal fishing over the past week. Labor Day has passed, high school football has claimed part of everyone's Saturday, and boat traffic offshore has thinned out. For anglers willing to make the run before Sunday's front arrived, conditions to the south held up reasonably well for most of the morning, even as Cape Cod Bay looked rougher with the wind building out of the southwest. If the wahoo bite holds, expect this contour line south of the islands to be a topic worth revisiting in next week's reports.
Cape Cod Canal: Hit or Miss
Two weeks ago the canal report had some optimism behind it, but AJ was honest about a step back this week. The bite has been inconsistent and hard to pattern. One morning produces a topwater bite behind the Gallo skating rink, and the very next day the action shifts to the east end in the afternoon, with no clear reason why.
What makes it more frustrating is that the bait is absolutely there. AJ reported squid, mackerel, and peanut bunker scattered throughout upper Buzzards Bay and into the canal itself. The missing ingredient is striped bass, and AJ feels the most likely explanation is that the bulk of the migratory biomass is still parked from Boston up into Maine, waiting on a trigger to start pushing south.
That trigger is always the unknown in a Cape Cod fall run. It's essentially a coin flip every year whether that biomass runs outside along the backside of the Cape and Monomoy or funnels through the canal into Buzzards Bay, and AJ agreed it often plays out as a mixed bag, with some fish taking each route. A poorly timed storm can undo weeks of promising signs, scattering fish offshore just as the run appears to be building. As AJ put it, the lesson is simply to fish hard while the window is open, since there's no controlling when or how the migration actually unfolds.
This Weekend's Storm: Why the Low Pressure Helps
With a storm arriving out of the southwest and steady rain expected Sunday, most anglers assume that means staying home. AJ's take was more nuanced. A dropping barometer can trigger feeding activity, and he wouldn't be surprised to see a topwater bite develop in the canal even as the front moves through. His recommended approach starts before you ever get to the water: check a wind app like Windy and plan your spot around getting the wind at your back, whether that means fishing the Cape side, the mainland side, or working a bend in the canal that blocks the worst of the gusts.
Because the wind in the canal always seems to find a way into your face regardless of location, AJ emphasized carrying a long-casting pencil popper, such as an Outcast or a PK Distance Ripper, to punch through it and keep your bait in the strike zone. He also recommended having jigs rigged and ready, especially heading into the afternoon and overnight hours as wind speeds are expected to climb.
On color, AJ kept it simple: stick primarily to white and mackerel patterns, with pink as a secondary option worth having in the bag. And if the topwater bite doesn't materialize, don't be afraid to sit on a chunk bait, since chunking has continued to produce for canal anglers in recent seasons even when nothing else does.
Buzzards Bay: The Bottom Bite Stays Open
Away from the canal, Buzzards Bay itself is offering a reliable backup plan even while the marquee species sort themselves out. On the funny fish front, bonito are around, but AJ described them as unexpectedly finicky, behaving more like the notoriously selective false albacore than the aggressive bonito anglers are used to. His theory is that the juvenile bonito that flooded Cape Cod Bay on Sibiki rigs a few seasons back have matured and grown wise to every epoxy jig, resin jig, and albie snack thrown at them, or that they're simply locked onto very small bait right now.
Either way, the fix that's been working for Red Top's customers is downsizing the terminal tackle: a longer leader without a swivel, connected with an FG or PR knot, and dropping leader strength as light as eight-pound test when the fish demand it. AJ's philosophy is straightforward — he'd rather flirt with hookups and occasional break-offs than blind-cast all afternoon with heavier gear the fish clearly won't touch.
For anglers who want a more relaxed, guaranteed outing, Buzzards Bay's bottom fishing remains a strong option heading into fall. Fluke season is still open for a short window, with a closure expected within the week, so there's still time to target a doormat or two. Black sea bass season has also reopened for a fall stretch with a two-fish limit, which AJ noted is unusual for this time of year since that season typically closes by late August. Combine that with smaller bluefish, in the three-to-five-pound range, holding around inlets like Phinneys, and Bassetts on the eastern side of Buzzards Bay, and there's a legitimate mixed-bag day available for anglers willing to work the bottom rather than chase the funny fish.
Looking Ahead
Expect more false albacore intel, offshore tuna and wahoo reports, and updates on the striped bass migration as fish begin moving from north to south through areas like the backside of the Cape, Monomoy, and eventually the canal into Buzzards Bay. Black sea bass will remain open into mid-October, and this has already shaped up as a strong season for fluke, so there should be plenty to report on multiple fronts in the coming weeks!
Tight Lines & Take Care!