It's been over a month since my last My Fishing Cape Cod forum report and since that time the warm water malaise was replaced by the frenetic chase for "Sir Albert" (false albacore) along the whole south side - including Monomoy.

Judging on the posts in the forum, the bluefin tuna bite has been good this fall and members have been pulling recreational size fish consistently. Big bluefish have been on both sides of the Cape, fattening up on copious amounts of bait-often within casting range from shore. Take it from me, targeting bluefish is a great idea as they are a fantastic fight on light tackle.

While some of us struggled during August, the "sharpies" on MFCC were still catching nice striped bass. Of course they know their spots and often put in a whole tide - that's why they've earned the nickname sharpies. 

That late summer frustration has now been replaced by The Fall Run with schools of fish crashing on bait dumping out of the estuaries. The day bite came alive during late September and October, and many of us have been chasing working flocks of birds, whether it's from the boat, kayak, or the surf.

It's an exciting time of year to be an angler on Cape Cod - this is our last hooray until we close out the northeast saltwater bite with tautog.  Speaking of blackfish, am I the only one with a hankering for fish tacos? 

There are some fantastic stories and beautiful photos to share from the past couple of months of posts inside the My Fishing Cape Cod forum, so buckle up and let's take a trip to see some of the highlights!

Bucktailing Stripers in the Surf

Many anglers believe bucktails (the lure that was included in WWII military survival gear) should always be in your bag. It's hard to argue against that considering the results we've seen over the last month. Personally, I use bucktail jigs in the surf only occasionally, and probably not as much as I should. 

I've had some memorable outings fishing bucktails, but I typically use them to catch small fish late in the season-when I want an easy release with minimal damage to the bass. The strikes on bucktails are also memorable because of the direct connection from the lure, to the line, to you.  

The WWII fishing survival kit - notice the lead heads to the upper left and pork rinds lower center.  

It's time to change the mindset of any bucktail doubters out there! In fact, some of the most productive anglers on MFCC rely on bucktail jigs as their primary offering. 

With this in mind lets' highlight some of the most impressive catches from the surf this August and September by anglers who were using the bucktail. There are so many it was hard to choose, but I think these pictures speak for themselves  - a thousand words a frame!

John Keech with an early August bass (left) and early September bass (right).

Calvin Toran-Sandlin displaying his skills with the bucktail - early August (left) and late September (right)

MFCC Member John Tombros early September (left) and Mike Marcus in early August (right)

Sure you could say...

"Of course they're successful bucktailers, they are some of the most dedicated and accomplished anglers on the forum."

However I would look at it from a different perspective. These anglers have the skills to fish anything they want but they fish bucktails regularly, and often it's the first thing tied on at the beginning of an outing.

Reading about their success in our forum has changed the way I think about the bucktail jig.

Encountering Schools of Migrating Bass

This time of year, finding fish often means moving around and looking for schools of bass that are chasing concentrations of bait. Alex Cadete did just that recently and was rewarded with a nice slot fish.

Alex Cadete showing off a slot striper.

Finding a daytime bite makes a day at the beach with your family even more fun. Andrew Heine demonstrates this from one of the Outer Cape beaches on September 17th.

Andrew Heine with a nice daytime bass from the beaches of the Outer Cape.

Member Steve Moniz landed a 48" beauty during the day in the Canal, beating his old personal best.

Steve Moniz with his largest striped bass ever from the Cape Cod Canal.

Robbie Sturtevant got out around the recent full moon, catching multiple big fish on a 24/7 Redeye Needlefish.

Robbie Sturtevant in Cape Cod Bay with an over slot fish.

Beauties from the Boat

Big bluefish moved into Cape Cod Bay during late summer and the bite got hot. You might have to look around to find them, but keep your sonar on and look for working birds. They have been reported in depths of 60 feet to the shallows of two feet or less.

Trolling X-Rap Magnums was working for Member @flatlander on September 18th, as were the classic A27 diamond jigs. If you feel the need for the bend in the rod but the albie fleet is getting on your nerves, then the bluefish bite was a great substitute during August and September. Hopefully there will be more drag burners around waiting to be hooked once seas settle down after this most recent blow.

Member @flatlander2004 recently had a day to remember in CCB. 

With the arrival of albie season the boat fishing reports of stripers slowed. However, the stripers are definitely still around. With cooler nights and a multitude of feeding opportunities the bass bite in Buzzards Bay picked up during September (did it ever drop off?) as summer temps cooled. 

John Steele snagged a beautiful 42" cow in Buzzard's Bay on September 10th and earlier in August @freeAV landed stripers and blues over by Woods Hole while the fleet was distracted by early pods of funny fish.

John Steele (left) in Buzzards Bay and @freeAV (right) near Woods Hole

Boston Harbor is having another great season and Graham Stephens took advantage of it landing this beast of a fish on September 12th.

MFCC Member Graham Stephens in Boston Harbor.

Tautog

For many people Fall tautog fishing is what they look forward to the most. How can you not enjoy the fight these strong bottom dwelling fish put up? Plus they make great table fare. More importantly, people are catching large keeper tog right now! 

Tautog are not drag burning fish like albies. They can be notoriously tricky to catch as they hunker down around line-breaking rocks and structure. There are subtle techniques to feeling the bite and setting the hook that comes only with practice.

Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters, who regularly posts in our forum, had outings before the storm that included numerous slot stripers and close to double digit tautog to the south of the Cape out of the Westport River. They even had some casts to boat shy albies. That's a great day on the water!

Ben, a client of Little Sister Charters, with double species keepers.

Can an angler celebrate their birthday any better than a lights out charter trip? Ben and his friend Will did just that for his 14th with Captain Jason. What a memory!

Will (left) and birthday boy Ben (right), celebrating his 14th with Westport blackfish and stripers.

Blackfish is also a highly sought after species in the artificial reefs off Long Island. My friend Vincent Bresnaider uses the racks for his blue crab traps off his slip and saved the incisor and crusher teeth from the picked clean skulls. As you can see below there is an impressive set of chompers on these fish!

Tautog teeth, courtesy of my friend from Long Island.

Kayak

With fish pushing on schools of bait, a kayak is a great way to get on without spooking the fish. Member Winslow Dresser was in Buzzards Bay when he came across fish that had trapped peanut bunker against the banks in a cove. In less than two feet of water, it was a kayak only experience. 

Winslow Dresser matching the hatch and catching fish

For more kayak fishing reports and updates, please visit the Kayak Category inside our forum.

Tuna

Throughout all of August and September members were posting their pictures and telling their stories of successful tuna trips - especially for the smaller variety. You must have been immune if the tuna bug didn't get you this season.

Member Kyle Wiley soaked pogies for 7 hours in Cape Cod Bay and was ready to call it quits when a strike from a 105" giant tuna rewarded his copious perseverance.  More recently, Justin Demers landed a smaller tuna more proportional to the size of his boat!

@kwiley03 (left) and  Justin Demers (right) display their bluefin tunas.

MFCC member and frequent contributor Matt Dixon has been looking to land his first tuna for a while now. Despite a number of unfruitful trips, he's stayed positive and has kept plugging away (or in this case jigging away) eventually boating this 51" 60 pound rec tuna.  Mike kept the tradition alive and ate the whole heat! Congrats Mike and here's to many more.

Matt Dixon showing his first tuna the love!

Bruno Demir and his crew have been having great outings all season long. Earlier this fall they went 3 for 5 on the troll and were back in their slip by early afternoon. That's a short day for for a cooler full of fresh caught tuna!

Bruno Demir (left) and a friend with their tuna from a productive fall trip.

Freshwater

Fall can be a productive time for largemouth and smallmouth bass. Their feedbags are on and they are bulking up for the winter. Freshwater fishing is a great way to rinse off the salt and take advantage of the many sweetwater fishing opportunities here on Cape Cod.

A few MFCC members have caught some noteworthy Larrys so far this autumn. Mike Marcus and Calvin Toran-Sandlin fish year round on the Cape and are usually demonstrating their talents for finding striped bass during this time of year. However in mid August they opted for a change of pace by hitting kettle ponds for a relaxing daytime bite.

Mike Marcus with two smallmouth bass (left), Calvin Toran-Sandlin multitasking with a GT360 Searchbait

After his success using a large swimbait for the first time (below, right), MFCC member Peter Smith snapped it off on the next cast. The water is still very warm in early September, so he decided for an unusual retrieve - he swam for it. I'd be swimming too, given Defcon lures run over $25 each!

A week or so earlier in late August John Tombros found results with the Spro mouse. a great lure for bass as well as brown trout.

Satisfaction in John Tombro's face with his big Larry (left). Pete Smith's fish has eyes as big as it's mouth (right)

False Albacore

Whispers of inshore false albacore started in mid-August and the density of bait on the South side made conditions perfect for their arrival. However, a cold snap and a slight temperature drop in the water seemed to shut it down for a week.

Finding those early season fish can be competitive and member Bill Mitchell, owner of Seven Stripes Fishing charters, was the first to land and a post a funny fish this year, followed by Ben Sussman who caught his the same day.

Billy Mitchel with the first false albacore on MFCC (left), Ben Sussman with his on the same day, August 19th (right)

Johnny F. and Dave Donahue got on their first fish of the season within a few days of those posts. The starting bell had rung and the chase was on.

Members Johnny F (left) and Dave Donahue (right) displaying their early season funny fish.

As the season progressed, many members complained that the fish were picky at their particular location, while others were having success elsewhere.

Yi-Bin Chen's casual family sunset cruise ended up yielding his son's first Albie. At 29 inches it was also a beast!  His sister was not to be denied, landing her first a few days later with another solid fish! 

Member Yi-Ben Chen's son (left) and daughter (right) with their first Albies, caught a few days apart

Unlike the boat or kayak where you can move to find the pods, surfcasting for albies usually requires a dedicated chunk of time waiting for these fast moving fish to venture within casting range.  

It speaks to the time commitment required to check the "Albie from shore" box. While Virginia may no longer believe in Santa Claus, let these pictures below prove it is is possible catch an albie from shore!

Members Steven Moniz (left), Ken Guglielmi (center) and Carol Girard-Irwin (right) display their shore-caught little tunny.

I am not sure anyone has Albie fever worse, and gets on these fish any better, than member Paul Pierce. His passion for hooking them is inspiring and his skill among those that share this contagious disease is well known. He is generous not only in sharing his stories and tips for success, but he is also gracious enough to take others out fishing, spreading this contagion.

This fall Paul had an outing where he boated over 30 false albacore from the kayak. He was close to shore and had the area all to himself.  There was even a crowd on shore cheering him on! Surreal.

Paul Pierce and his first early season Albie

Roman philosopher Seneca said "Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity". If you change that to "opportunities" I would say it sums up fishing for False Albacore.

In Conclusion

Photo by Carol Girard-Irwin

The autumnal equinox was on the 22nd of September this year, marking the official beginning of Fall. The earlier nightfall and shorter days have been noticeable for a while but only recently have we been fortunate to get the cool nights. Air and water temperatures are dropping, bringing our season to its crescendo. There is a mad rush to catch as much in the salt as we can.

Some anglers will transition to freshwater and the great trout fishing we have here in Cape Cod's kettle ponds. Others will spend their winter prepping for next season. Maybe someone will try to hit the cycle, catching stripers every month of the year. Those with the time and the resources may escape to warmer climates and scratch that itch in waters further south.

Whatever group you fall into, I look forward to reading more of your adventures. I like to think of myself as a lifelong learner and MFCC is always broadening my experience as we hurtle through space on this beautiful blue orb. I hope it does for you too!

Be safe out there & tight lines!

- Tim