South Side: Memorial Day Weekend

As Memorial Day weekend descends on Cape Cod, the fish are doing their part to make sure anglers have plenty of reasons to get out on the water. Amy Wrightson of Sports Port in Hyannis provides a packed report covering striped bass, bluefish, scup, black sea bass, tautog, and even winter flounder! Here's everything you need to know about what's biting and where to find it.

Striped Bass: Bigger Fish, Fewer Schoolies

The striped bass fishing along the south side of Cape Cod has been an exciting story so far this season — but it comes with a caveat. The fish being caught are running large, often well above slot size, but reports of juvenile schoolies are notably thin. That pattern was on full display at the Cheeky Fly Fishing Tournament, the world's largest fly fishing tournament, which took place on the Cape last weekend. Of more than 180 two-person teams that entered, fewer than half submitted a catch for the day — a testament to how hit-or-miss the action can be. Still, those who connected got into some impressive fish: at least three were measured over 40 inches, and several more came in at 30-plus inches.

In this report, Amy goes into detail on:

• Prime spots to look for stripers from shore along the south side of Cape Cod
• Best late May lures for targeting these larger fish along the south side
• Bluefish are already here to stay along south side facing beaches
• HUGE scup being reported from boat anglers targeting sea bass
• Tautog bite on the south side from shore and from boat continues
• Sea bass are open and present, but finding keepers proving difficult for some
• Winter flounder inside Cape Cod Bay

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