From the Canal to the Surf: The Year of the Grind

From the Cape Cod Canal to the surf in 2025, anglers reported a growing percentage of their time spent "fishing" compared to the "catching" they did in past years.

"It was a good spring, a great fall, but most people want to fish in the summer, and the canal just did not produce like it has in the past," says AJ Coots of Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay.

According to MFCC member Mike Marcus "striper fishing got off to a great start, took a major siesta until September 1, it was lights out for a couple of weeks, and then it tapered off." Mike is one of the top posters in the MFCC Surfcasters' thread.

"The spring was great at the beach and the fall was great at the canal," says Ian McPartland of the Goose Hummock Shops in Orleans.

"I still had some really good nights this year," says Calvin Toran-Sandlin, an expert surf angler and frequent MFCC poster. "I didn't get that consistent bite that was easy pickings, but there were still fish to be caught. It was a matter of both luck and perseverance."

The Bait and Biomass Challenge

With a smaller biomass of stripers in our waters, anglers in 2025 faced the reality that traditional hotspots didn't hold fish in their normal patterns. Some formerly prime fishing locations didn't even see baitfish in the water during prime time—the early spring and fall run.

An offshoot of the frustrating fishing conditions led to the Skunked Support Group thread that had a total of 71 posts, many of them in June when striped bass fishing tends to be strong.

Compounding the challenging striper season was the disappearance of bluefish from our waters. Some cocktail blues appeared at Monomoy and off of several beaches, and a few gorilla blues showed up with stripers for one night during an epic 10-day run in September, but for the most part, these cyclical fish were out of town this year.

Calvin Toran-Sandlin reported the brown sharks were in the boulder fields starting in early June, noting he stops fishing for stripers with eels once the sharks appear. "The brown sharks left earlier, but they were pretty consistent when they were here" added Toran-Sandlin.

Shore anglers chasing bonito reported some success, including at Race Point and the east end of the Canal in early October, says McPartland, noting this year didn't measure up to 2024's banner bonito season.

Location, Location, Location

Where fish were caught in 2025 was oftentimes different than past years. "The bay saved me the last couple of years," says McPartland, adding that he targets outgoing tides in general and specifically, creek outflows.

The Outer Cape was difficult at best, noting he fished Nauset Beach in Orleans every day for a week and a half and didn't catch a single fish.

"Everybody is pretty much in the same boat," says McPartland, adding that 2025 was the first year in seven years he didn't catch a 50-pound striper, his largest being 46 pounds.

Last year after a strong mid-October into early November fishing at Nauset Beach, Mike Marcus echoes Ian's sentiment that this year "Nauset was non-existent," adding that fishing at this historically strong hot spot "fell off a cliff."

Fishing Cape Cod Bay and southside facing beaches, Marcus saw bait throughout the season, and sometimes birds working, but there didn't seem to be many fish on them for most of the summer.

The Epic September Run

"On September 1 it was like turning on a light switch," said Marcus, who surmised the fish were offshore "and all of a sudden they came in."

"For 10-12 days they came in close to shore and we were killing them on sluggos," says Marcus. "If it looked like a sand eel, we would do pretty well."

Reports in the MFCC Surfcasters' Thread - Summer 2025 included pictures of one trophy sized striper after another, with a few gorilla bluefish, that showed up for a single night, mixed in as well. Marcus and a group of anglers who know each other through MFCC fished side by side, night after night during this epic bite.

Calling themselves the "Beach Boys," the group included Dave Lane, John Figmac, Carl Leitao, Jim Kelly, Scott Silver, Tim Donnelly, Jeff Cotto, Ben Mahanna, Jane and Tom Simpson, Dex Chadsey, Mike Remlinger, and Ken Holt. "It's always more enjoyable to get out there with a few guys," says Marcus. "And it is a safety thing in case anything happens."

Canal Fishing: A Different Story

Canal anglers reported their own challenges in 2025. Fishing the tides in the Canal didn't produce like they historically have done, says Coots. Beaches two miles from the canal were producing, but the fish weren't funneling into the canal as they have done in the past.

"It was a weird year, and overall, a slower year," says Coots, adding that fish weren't always following the bait as they commonly do.

Because some anglers got used to the height of canal fishing in recent years, where frequent blitzes resulted in nearly non-stop action, this year was quite the wakeup call. Some anglers don't want to put in the six-to-eight-hour jig session to catch a few fish. "The old timers are still fishing every morning, working hard for their fish," says Coots.

There were a lot of herring early in the canal, the pogies weren't as thick as they normally are, but mackerel continued to be in the canal in good numbers this fall.

"It almost seems like the fish went around the Cape or stayed offshore," says Coots. "There were stripers in Plymouth but not in the west end of the canal—that doesn't make sense."

The Grind: One Angler's Experience

Calvin Toran-Sandlin reported catching about 40% fewer fish in 2025 compared to recent years. "I can't personally complain about the season, I had some decent fish," adding that he caught two stripers around 43 pounds this year, "one in May and one in June, exactly where they should have been at that time."

At the same time, Toran-Sandlin reports that during a May to June stretch that has produced historically, he caught two quality fish this year, then went 11 consecutive days without having a bite, during eight-hour nightly sessions. "I was grinding it out, night after night with no real return."

While it's difficult to say what is causing the inconsistency, other than the reduction in the number of stripers in our waters, Toran-Sandlin did report not seeing a bunker bite this season and only sporadic squid activity where he most commonly fishes in the Upper Cape.

Adapting to New Patterns: What Worked

So, what did work in 2025? "Every year is not the same, it's not the way it works," says McPartland. "Normal patterns aren't aligning—you've got to mix it up.

"I'm not shy about going to three or four spots" in a night, he says, adding that "too many people go to the same place at the same tide. There is no sense in beating yourself up. If what you are doing isn't working, mix it up.

"If you're not willing to change it up and you aren't liking what's happening, you are kind of gridlocking yourself," McPartland continues, suggesting to maybe walk a mile, try a different tide, switch lures.

Coots says one of his co-workers has a 20-cast rule—if he isn't getting action after 20 casts, he starts moving.

"I walk miles to find fish," says Marcus, adding, "I can't imagine how many miles I've walked over the years. Moving is the nature of the beast. You don't just set up your chair and hope a fish swims by."

Illustrating the importance of moving, in May, Toran-Sandlin was discouraged after a series of fishless nights, assuming the fish have to be somewhere. On a whim he drove across Cape to work a promising tide at a different location and ended up catching one of his largest stripers of the year.

Lures That Produced

When asked what lures produced in 2025, the experts mentioned several different lures, with large plastics and needlefish most commonly mentioned. "Sluggos always catch fish if there are fish around," says Toran-Sandlin.

Marcus says the needlefish was also a top producer in 2025, particularly the larger ones, nine to 12 inches long. "You can never say to me a lure is too big," says Marcus. "I've caught fish that were not much bigger than the lure."

The needlefish combines the ability to punch through the strongest winds, and do a nice job imitating sand eels, which were in our waters in large numbers in 2025.

Fishing lures very slow, particularly early in the season is key, as is experimenting with a variety of retrieves. Marcus illustrates that point with a story of him retrieving a needlefish as fast as possible so he could grab his camera to take a picture of a fishing buddy's catch, when a fish slammed his lure.

With many of his customers fishing the Canal, Coots reports that jigs and Kastmasters fished deep in the water column were successful. In the fall, top water lures produced well. "Chunking mackerel certainly caught fish when no one else was," says Coots.

One newer lure that Coots saw producing in 2025 was a Savage mullet swim bait that is fairly durable as the lure moves away from the hook on impact and doesn't easily get torn up.

Looking Back: When the Action Happened

Reviewing the 2025 season, many of the top forum posts from the surf and the canal came during the mid-May through June timeframe, then from September 1 through the fall run.

Almost all fish in the surf, and many in the canal, other than early in the season holdovers, were caught at night. 

Preparing for 2026

Late winter into early spring can be productive for getting out and seeing how Mother Nature has changed your favorite beach fishing spots. Marcus recommends heading out at low tide, particularly negative tides, to look for troughs and cuts between sand bars that funnel baitfish in and out.

"That's the fun of it, trying to figure out where they are going to be," says Marcus. "Put on a good pair of boots, and off you go."

With inflation continuing and tariffs impacting the cost of new fishing gear, Coots recommends making purchases, particularly larger purchases, sooner rather than later. Some 2026 price increases between five and 20% are on the horizon, making your 2025 dollars stretch a bit further.

Final Thoughts

Looking forward, we may need to reset our expectations, do some homework, get ready to get walking, and maybe develop friendships with other MFCC anglers. Fishing is often more fun with family and friends. And making the time to appreciate the beauty of  Cape Cod helps to balance those fishless outings.

A final thought on the 2025 season:

"It was a game of time that did get rewarded in the end," says Toran-Sandlin. "I won't give this up because I enjoy the experience—it's an experience most don't get."

Tight lines!

Dan Nahorney

PS - Watch for other articles in this season analysis series. And then during the depths of winter, we'll be putting together a series of preparation and planning posts on everything from a calendar of early-in-the-year fishing shows to information on getting your boat ready for tuna season. Stay tuned!