Posts tagged striped bass
June 10 Fishing Report

On Cape Cod, June can be an awesome time for shore and boat anglers alike in both fresh and saltwater. We have LOTS of reports from many different areas and varying species being caught. So, let’s get to it!

SALTWATER

We’ll start with the delicious, very fun to catch and gorgeously colored Black Sea Bass. Sports Port’s always friendly, positive and super knowledgeable Christian had an epic day out on the water with Sports Port’s very handy reel technician, Vinny. The 2 headed out to Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds. Christian and Vinny quickly limited out on bluefish. They showed up at Middleground to find acres of blitzing bluefish. Their top water lures weren’t in the water very long before a toothy blue was at the end of the line.

A few blues were bled and iced, ready for the smoker!

Next stop was Hedge Fence where they again found schooling fish. This time, it was black sea bass, albeit atypical. This school was actually going after the guys’ top water and soft plastic lures. Normally anglers will use a hi-lo rig tipped with squid and send it to the bottom. Or jigs with gulp also bounced off the bottom. These black seas bass were on the surface and feeding on whatever was put in front of them. The cooler had another delicious species to keep cold.

The Sports Port crew tried their luck at getting some fluke. They managed to get a few shorts and one keeper. They also landed a couple of stripers that were just short of keeper sized. Needless to say, Christian and Vinny had a pretty epic day out on the boat!

If you don’t want to go as far as the Vineyard, you can certainly get black sea bass, scup, blues and striper closer to the Hyannis-Osterville-Cotuit areas. Colliers has been producing keep sized scup and sea bass. Several customers have said that they have done well landing keeper sized and bigger striped bass on the South Side beaches in the Sound with squid.

Boaters also reported schools of Striped bass at shoals like Succonnesset, but they were finicky and not easy to catch.

Monomoy is holding striped bass as well. Top water, soft plastics, squid imitation lures and flies drifted into the rips have been go-to’s.

My kids and I have done some shore and kayak fishing in the Osterville/Cotuit area bays. Tucker and I have found schoolie sized striped bass taken on Albie Snax and the Jumpin Minnow.

The Winter Flounder bite is still ON out of Sesuit! Flounder rigs with clams or seaworms have been producing.

L to R: Amy with a Striped Bass. Christian with a Striper and then a Black Sea Bass. Jack with 2 Black Sea Bass.

FRESHWATER

Admittedly, we have had more saltwater reports than fresh water. But, my kids have been hitting their favorite Cape ponds pretty hard. They have been getting countless large mouth and perch. Rubber worms rigged texas style are their preferred lure.

Sam and I checked out Lake Wequaquet the other day. It’s a new fishing spot for us, and being the biggest body of freshwater on the Cape it leaves a lot of ground to cover in our kayaks. We managed a pickerel, a sunfish and a mystery fish.

L to Right: Tucker with a Largemouth bass. Bluegill. Sam with a yellow perch.

We were trolling on our way back to the car when I had a small fish on the line. I put the paddle down and started to retrieve my Rapala Jointed lure. As it was getting closer to the kayak I realized that I had a sizable fish. The drag started peeling and the rod was BENT! A couple of clicks to tighten the drag and a couple of more runs from the strong fighting fish and I could ALMOST see the fish. Then…PWEEENG! Like a slingshot, the lure flew out of the fishes mouth, out of the water and (luckily) past me. The line swung from my rod in front of me and I was surprised to see a small perch at the end of my lure. My guess is that I had a pike grab that perch that I had inadvertently caught on my lure and was unknowingly live lining. These are the instances that keep us going back for more!

Glen, a long-time Sports Port customer and lover of fresh water fishing recently sent me this picture of a Bullhead he caught at Hamblin’s pond. This is not a species I frequently hear of people catching at Hamblins. If anyone knows more about this fishery, I would love to chat! Email me here.

Bullhead catfish

Shop News

We are now a St. Croix dealer! Stop by Hyannis to see what our selection is. If we don’t stock a St. Croix model that you would like, let me know and I can get it in stock for you!

Our Hyannis location is now operating with our full summer schedule: 7a-6p Mon-Sat and Sun 7a-4p.

Our Osterville location is open on the weekends. Stay tuned for when we will be open 7 days a week for the 2023 season.

If you have been a Sports Port customer for any amount of time, hopefully you know that customer service is our #1 priority. One area of service that has been a struggle for quite a while is reel repair and maintenance. While we are still experiencing some sporadic gaps in the supply chain when ordering parts, for the most part we have been able to get orders in fairly quickly. The best part is that we have connected with Vinny (mentioned in the epic fishing day above) who is a reel repair guru and in several short weeks has managed to dig us out from a service and repair backlog. Vinny grew up on the Cape and recently moved back with his family. We are lucky to be able to use his services and continue helping our customers keep their fishing gear in good working order. Stop by the shop with any reels that need work or TLC.

Tight Lines!
Amy

Memorial Day Weekend Fishing Update

I had to pinch myself when I woke up Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to a gorgeous sunny day! I can’t recall the last time we had such nice weather to kick off our summer season.

The weather isn’t the only positive news on this gorgeous sand bar called Cape Cod. The fishing this Spring has been off to an epic start. The bait has been plentiful with herring, bunker, squid and silversides. And where there is bait, there is almost always bigger fish looking to get there next meal. Many anglers from shore and boat have found these bigger striped bass and bluefish at the end of their lines. There have been lots of fish taken on top water lures like the Doc and the Jumpin Minnow. Soft plastics like the Albie Snax, Whip-It Fish or Savage Sandeels have also been winning choices. SP Minnows are also catching fish. Our shore anglers have been catching fish wading in Barnstable Harbor, fishing from jetties and harbors on the southside and the Canal has also been producing good sized striped bass.

If you want to hear your drag scream and feel the power of a big bluefish, try your luck at Oregon beach in Cotuit.

Cut mackerel has produced slot sized bass on the northside. This past Thursday the keeper bass had to be at least 28” and less than 35”. On Friday the regulations changed to 28-31”. The reduced slot size will be in effect for 180 days and then they will determine if the regulation stays in place for another 180 days.

As for the bottom fishing. The boat anglers are finding good sized scup and black seabass in Nantucket Sound. Hi-Lo rigs with seaworms, squid or clams always produce, but for bigger black seabass, try a jig like the Joe Baggs Flukies or the Spro Prime Bucktail Jig tipped with Gulp!

L to R: Jim with a Striped BAss. Tucker with a Black Sea Bass. Carl with a Striped Bass.

The fresh water fishing has not disappointed! Anglers have been catching lots of trout in our local ponds. Gold spoons like Kastmasters, Roughriders and Mepps have been working very well. Rubber worms have been successful in the largemouth bass category.

Mike with a VERY LARGE largemouth Bass!

Shellfishing, Trout Fishing...and STRIPED BASS?

Carl and a few other customers reported that they are still catching Stripers in the canal. There has been schools of mackerel and if you are willing to put the time in and can still feel your fingers enough, you just might get a Striper in December!

Most anglers have already stored their salt water gear and switched over to fresh water activity. The trout fishing has not disappointed! Shiners are the go-to choice for bait fishermen and for anglers that prefer to use lures then all the usual trout lures have been catching; metal spoons like Thomas and Kastmaster, Rapalas, and of course powerbait.

And we have LOTS of shellfishermen and women getting their limits on their favorite shellfish.

Lots of oysters ready to be harvested in Barnstable Harbor.

And for all of you shellfishermen and women and anglers reading this…if you didn’t already know, Our Annual Holiday Sale has officially started! It’s also the first year that we will have the same discounts available to our online shoppers that our in-person customers have enjoyed year after year. (We are continually adding to our web store, but in-person shopping does offer our largest selection.) Come see us in person or shop online!

Until next time, Tight Lines!

Amy

A November to remember!

 By Striper Mike, Sports Port Pro Staff

Stripers & Bluefish - November, 2022

 We are now at the end of the 2022 striped bass and bluefish migration and November is your last chance to catch these coveted fish until next spring. To catch bass and blues in November from the beach you have to move frequently and try many different locations. The bass are on the move and your good spots during the season are gone and your best chance of catching them are finding them as they are moving. Once again birds can be your best radar. Be acutely aware of bird and bait activity and if you see that flurry of bird activity “get moving” and see if there are fish there as well. Not all bird activity mean fish but it’s always worth a try. Bass and Blues move in big numbers and if you find them you can catch big numbers of each with some big ones mixed in as well. Good luck out there and remember for you true fishing enthusiasts, December is a terrific trout month and hopefully my next report will filled with Cape Cod trout.

 Mike and Jim Kelly with November Bass & Bluefish

November trout fishing

Massachusetts state fisheries division does a tremendous job stocking trout throughout the state but they really take good care of us Cape Codders. The end of September and October they stock thousands of trout throughout the many Cape kettle ponds and do it again in the early spring and have been doing this for many years. As the water temperatures dip into the 40’s and our beloved striped bass move south to warmer waters, rainbow, brook, tiger and brown trout become our main fishing target. Recently the kastmaster has been very productive. With many different ways of catching these beautiful fish, Amy and her knowledgeable staff have all the gear and information you need to be part of this fishing action for the upcoming winter and early spring months.

Stan and Mike with two November rainbow trout.


Cape Cod Fall Migration – Living the Dream

By Striper Mike, Sports Port Pro Staff

The Cape Cod fall migration of striped bass and bluefish is world renown and anglers from all over try their best to catch some of these beautiful species as they move south across and through Cape Cod’s many beaches and Canal.

Jim's 33 inch bass

It was my good fortune this past week to spend some time and fish with Cape Cod’s Jim Kelly. Jim has many friends within the Cape’s fishing community and was kind enough to introduce me to some of them during this past week. Jim is the quintessential Cape Cod Striped bass and Bluefish fisherman and for his talents and skills as a fisherman we are designating him “Angler of the week”.

Jim is an avid Cape Cod Canal angler but started this past week fishing the beaches of Cape Cod Bay and had a spectacular day catching an amazing 50 striped bass. Instead of hiding this incredible day, he invited me to join him the following morning to see if we could do it again. Sure enough we added 21 more striped bass to the total. We caught all these bass on top water plugs and this is a fun and enjoyable way to catch these beautiful fish. We caught bass up to 28 inches and was another tremendous and memorable morning of fishing.  These two days of fishing exemplify the Cape Cod fall run, when the bait and birds gather around the beaches the bass find them and feed in big numbers and you can catch huge quantities of bass in just one location. A real “hit of miss” adventure, there is plenty of “empty” water out there, but find the right spots and you can experience the best fishing of your life.

The author with a striped bass

As if this wasn’t good enough Jim invited me to fish with him and some of his “buddies” at the Cape Cod Canal. The morning started slowly with Jim catching a small striped bass but then the day exploded with an incredible number of very large gator bluefish definitely on the feed. With the average bluefish approaching 30 inches this was going to be a career, once in a lifetime day. Jim had just shown me his jigging technique and it was put to use immediately as 12 of us continued to hook into these truck pulling bluefish.

A big "gator" Bluefish caught on Cape Cod

Jim’s 35 inch bluefish


Add a 4 knot current to this and we were in a tremendous fishing battle that would go on for the next 2 hours. With huge bluefish seemingly everywhere we experienced fishing “mayhem” but were enjoying every minute of it. Experiencing all this fishing action with so many accomplished and skilled anglers was a sight in itself. A well oiled machine of motion to catch and unhook these very toothy creatures. Finally, the bluefish blitz ended and once again the waters returned to peace and serenity.

Jim Kelly, Angler of the week, thank you!

Cape Cod Canal Bluefish

The author with Jim and their gator blues!

Albies, Striped Bass and Bluefish

Another week gone by and somehow we managed to get another fishing report in there as well! (If I don’t pat myself on the back, who will?) This week was another EPIC Albie week! We have reports of Albies from Chatham to The Elizabeth Islands, so find some shoreline somewhere in there and you’ll at least have a chance of hooking into those speedy hardtails!

Fishing buddy, Tony and I got out on our kayaks and we took some video of our stellar morning. You can also see my amatuer hour of losing my rod overboard. I guess I should invest in a rod holder. You can watch the lights out fishing video here and also below. I was most successful using with The Albie Snax in the white pearl color. Tony did equally as well with Epoxy Resin jigs, also in that white bone color. We certainly timed our first albie trip right because that morning was one for the books. At one point we looked around and there were 4 other anglers hooked up. This is certainly an anomaly to most days fishing for albies. I talked to a few customers who were also catching albies. One person said green was his color of choice and another said pink…so a variety is good to have for when they are more finicky than they were on this particular morning!

Here’s a quick video of Tony and I kayak fishing for false albacore:

Albies caught and rod goes overboard

Dowses Beach is still loaded with snapper blues and scup. Schoolie bass are being caught in the bays and harbors on the North and South sides of the mid Cape area. Bigger bass more likely after dark. SP Minnows have been a great producer. Customer Adam gave me a great report that he and his friends were catching keeper bass in East Bay. Smallest fish was 30 inches!

Customers Clark and Natalie had an incredible day out by the Elizabeth Islands and Falmouth areas catching striped bass, false albacore, big bluefish and big seabass (that sadly had to go back due to being out of season)! Here are some beautiful pics they were kind enough to share with me:

Monomoy has also been great for striped bass and bluefish. Barry and Stanley reported that they were using Joe Baggs Swarters out on the rips and hauled in the beautiful fish pictured below!

Long time Sports Port customer, Dave Elworthy, reports that keeper bass are being caught using chunk mackerel outside of Barnstable Harbor. September really is the best! It seems this wind will keep most of us on shore for the next few days. Keep the pictures of your catches coming, by sending them to me, here.

Dave with dinner

Surfcasting trips with Sports Port Pro Staff and the Fishing Report

By Striper Mike, Sports Port Pro Staff

Imagine walking the beautiful beaches of Cape Cod, viewing spectacular sunrises and sunsets while having the opportunity to catch powerful striped bass and bluefish - this is the world of a surfcaster. With a minimum investment of a rod, reel, a few lures and a good pair of walking boots you can get in on some phenomenal and memorable Cape Cod fishing. If you enjoy walking, learning to surfcast will be an experience you will never forget and if you hook into a drag screaming powerful fish it will be a wonderful forever memory. I offer 4 hour Surfcasting trips, incorporating proper instruction along the way - if you are interested please contact me at StriperMike@outlook.com For all your fishing needs, stop by the shop in Hyannis or Osterville and talk to Amy and her knowledgeable staff for the current fishing reports and remember, “if they don’t have it, you don’t need it.”
Here are a couple of highlights from a recent Surfcasting trip with Kevin & Louisa:

July 21st Fishing Report

Who caught that moonrise last week?

Moonrise

Monomoy seems to be holding strong as the go-to Striped Bass spot for our Southside boat anglers. Ben was out there on Friday and caught some schoolies along with some slot-sized bass on soft plastics and epoxy jigs. The fish were feeding on squid and sand eels. Nate was also fishing off Monomoy recently and was hooking up with 40” striped bass using pink soft plastics rigged on a 2oz jig head.

There are large schools of bunker from North of Boston all the way to Barnstable. These schools often have large bass feeding them. Our Cape Cod Bay boat anglers have been finding schoolies, slot-sized and bigger Stripers outside of Barnstable Harbor. If you can find the mackerel, live-lining has been working well. Trolling Bunkers Spoons has reportedly been successful. Casting soft plastics has also been doing to the trick.

Sports Port doesn’t heavily focus on the offshore fisheries so we know the tuna bite must be really good when we are starting to carry the bigger 3, 4 and 6oz resin jigs that have been working so well for that hot tuna bite!

Big Blues are still being caught out at the Horseshoe in Nantucket Sound. Trolling Bombers, SP Minnows or Rapalas are all reportedly working well.

Sharking on the Southside beaches at night is producing 5’ and 6’ browns. Dead eels has been the bait of choice.

Seaworms, squid and clams are keeping the Scup fishing from the Southside beaches going strong! Northern Kingfish are also being caught and some smaller fluke have been landed from shore as well.

Keep you fish pics and stories coming! Send them here.

Tight Lines!

Amy

Summer Season Begins and 7/15 fishing report

By Striper Mike, Sports Port Pro Staff

The spring striped bass migration is well past completion and many of the striped bass visiting the Cape Cop beaches are settling into their summer mode. This now means the water temperature plays a very important role in locating these striped bass. Bass are most comfortable in 55 to 65 degree water temperature and in that range they can be anywhere and caught close to shore on any beach, however as we move into the warming temperatures of summer, the in shore waters quickly approach 70 degrees and warmer. Many of the striped bass retreat to the cooler and deeper water off shore and the charter boat Captains change their strategies to catch these off shore bass.

For our Surfcasting anglers, the early mornings and evenings are definitely the summer fishing times and the daytime hours are now reserved for golf and other activities but always are aware and looking for those cool, cloudy windy days when some stripers still venture in to our many beaches during the day time hours.

John enjoying an evening of surfcasting in Cape Cod Bay.

John enjoying an evening of surfcasting in Cape Cod Bay.

Enjoy your time on the water and if you don’t have the luxury of choosing specific fishing times, there is NEVER a bad time to be out fishing - get out there and enjoy the day and our beautiful Cape Cod environment.

Stop by the shop and check in with Amy and her staff at the Hyannis and Osterville stores and find out the latest fishing intel and remember “if they don’t have it, you don’t need it.”
- Striper Mike

Fishing Report 7/15/22

Fishing from shore is good….depending on what you want to catch. If you are happy with catching scup and northern kingfish then this is your time! smaller hooks, with some weight and bait and consider yourself ready for some tight lines. If you want striped bass well, that’s a different story. Shore anglers are getting them, but they are small.

Boater anglers are having a much better time catching good size fish. On the South side, Monomoy has been producing slot sized and bigger fish. We have heard of lots of different lures doing the trick: white and pink soft plastics, the yo-zuri hydro squirt (which is a great squid imitation) and squid teaser flies to name a few. We have heard fewer reports on the big bluefish at Monomoy.

Billingsgate has had lots of stripers, although reportedly lots of schoolies with some bigger fish mixed in. Resin and diamond jigs are working well out there.

Our first report of a bonito came in from Rick! Rick and his friend were jigging for mackerel on the Northside when they hooked up with their first funny fish of the season. They also managed to land some nice striped bass as well.

Sports Ports own, Ben, and customer Derek went out of Barnstable Harbor earlier this week and managed to hook up with some beautiful striped bass. They reported that white soft plastics were the secret sauce that morning.

Ben and Derek with their Northside Striped Bass

We hope everyone is getting out there and enjoying this beautiful sandbar that we call Cape Cod! If you have any fish pics we would love to see them and feature in our next fishing report. Send them to us here.

Tight lines everyone!

Amy and everyone at Sports Port

Cape Cod diversity of fishing opportunities part II

By Striper Mike, Sports Port Pro Staff

 

This morning I had the opportunity to get out on the water with my friend and fishing buddy Stan along with his fishing buddy Mike. We initially encountered a solid bluefish blitz and worked that for a while and did catch some blues and one striped bass. The goal this morning however was to target fluke and black sea bass so we moved on leaving plenty of fish behind. After we began our drifts jigging for these fluke and seabass we realized we made the right decision. We were hooking into fish every drift and constantly getting hits on our jigs and finally after a couple of hours of solid fishing the tide was at it’s end and it was time to go home. Hooking into 24 inch fluke and 23 inch seabass along with many over slot ones definitely made this a morning fishing trip to remember.

 

With the summer season here, now is the time to get “fishing ready” and take advantage of all the Cape’s ponds and magnificent surrounding ocean with the proper fishing gear for your Cape Cod fishing adventure.

 

Stop by Sports Port in Hyannis or Osterville and let Amy and her staff outfit you with the latest equipment and local knowledge for the variety of fish species here on Cape Cod and remember “if they don’t have it, you don’t need it.”

Cape Cod diversity of fishing opportunities

By Striper Mike, Sports Port Pro Staff

Freshwater and Saltwater bass have always been my passion and the Cape Cod fishery couldn’t be a better place to enjoy both. This past week I had the good fortune to get into some outstanding freshwater largemouth bass fishing, two beauties weighing in at 6.5 and 7 pounds respectively along with several 3 pounders and one 4 pounder while also catching some “slot size” striped bass in the 28 to 30 inch range, all from shore and just a few miles from my home here on Cape Cod. No expensive boat with fancy electronics needed, just my fishing gear and a good pair of walking boots!

People travel hundreds of miles to get the chance to fish for Cape Cod striped bass, bluefish, tuna along with so many other species and more are now realizing the tremendous freshwater bass and trout fishing on the Cape 12 months of the year, truly a fisherman’s heaven.

Linda

Linda with a nice Striped Bass

With the summer season here, now is the time to get “fishing ready” and take advantage of all the Cape’s ponds and magnificent surrounding ocean with the proper fishing gear for your Cape Cod fishing adventure.

Stop by Sports Port in Hyannis or Osterville and let Amy and her staff outfit you with the latest equipment and local knowledge and remember “if they don’t have it, you don’t need it.”

Sports Port Fishing Report June 1st

Lots of bluefish in Nantucket Sound in the Osterville, Cotuit and Hyannis area.

The seabass fishing has been great using squid as well as gulp rigged on jigs. Colliers and Wreck Shoal have been producing some good fish. Squid on rigs and Gulp on jigs!

Anglers going for Scup have not been disappointed. The boats in Nantucket Sound have been catching lots and good sized fish as well. The scup in the canal have apparently been huge.

Striped Bass fishing continues to be strong with good sized fish from Buzzards Bay to Hyannis. On the Northside, the striper reports also remain solid. Top water lures, which are so fun, are reportedly the winning choice.

Nice catch Dean!

Dave with his dinner

On the freshwater side, it seems trout has slowed (or maybe anglers are distracted by all of the saltwater action). Largemouth bass have been hitting on crankbaits, chatter baits and always the rubber worms.

Tight lines!

Amy

Sports Port - May 22nd fishing report

By Striper Mike, Sports Port Pro Staff

The bass and bluefish have arrived on Cape Cod and big ones too! We now have reports from all over the Cape - Buzzards Bay and the Cape Cod canal to the outer beaches of the lower Cape. Plenty more bass and bluefish on the way but now is time to get out there and catch big striped bass and bluefish from a boat, kayak or the beach.

Anthony, an outstanding Cape Cod fisherman, captured the essence of fishing Cape Cod in his Hobie kayak with this beautiful 40 inch striped bass and tough fighting gator bluefish. Congratulations and what a great day on the water Anthony!

Top water action has been working very well as well as soft plastics near the bottom (although you may want to put those away with those blues moving in).

Boat anglers have been successful fishing off the bottom for tautog and scup. Scup reports are in big numbers and large in size. Black sea bass opened yesterday! Send us your fish pics here.

The 11th annual Cheeky Schoolie Tournament took place yesterday and the first place team set a new record for inches caught! Congrats to all the participants. You can watch the video of the winners announced and the money raised for Striped Bass conservation here.

Stop by Sports Port and talk with Amy and the crew about proper gear and ways to get in on this outstanding fishing action.

Extraordinary May fishing day

by Striper Mike, Sports Port Pro Staff

Trying to predict results of a fishing trip is never easy but sometimes the unpredictability can turn into great success. Fishing a south facing beach Tuesday, Carl and I had a specific plan to find and catch striped bass and we were confident the stripers would be there. After few hours of absolutely nothing, seeing no bait, catching no fish, we were planning to move to another beach location. As we walked back to our cars we decided to make that “last cast” at a spot with no outstanding features like rocks, weeds or any signs that there may be fish there but we cast our top water lures anyway. We were glad we did, over the next hour 8 striped bass were caught between 25 and 33 inches and 4 of those were over 30 inches! (Carl with 33 inch bass)

Striped Bass

Carl with a nice 33 inch Striped Bass

Learn to Surf Cast with Sports Port

May 14th 9am at Keyes Memorial Beach in Hyannis we will host our 2nd annual Surfcasting Seminar. Register for this informative, fun and FREE event at our Hyannis location or now on our website.

Sports Port’s Pro Staffer, “Striper Mike” will lead the group with a rundown on proper gear and general surfcasting information. We will then take that info and put it to use by taking some casts from the beach. Bring your own gear or you are welcome to use rods and reels we will have on hand for the event.

All ages are welcome. This event is perfect for beginners but also helpful for the more experienced anglers who may want some helpful tips to improve their cast. We will have a few prizes to raffle off too, so register now!

Surfcasting Seminar

Last years Surfcasting Seminar

Squid, Tautog and a few Striped Bass

On the freshwater front many anglers are having a great time casting gold spoons from shore for a nice trout from one of the many beautiful Cape Cod ponds. Shiners are always a choice bait and if in a boat, trolling a Rapala has been very productive. Bass fisherman have been doing well with rubber worms and metal spoons.

Small mouth bass kayak fishing a Cape Cod Pond

Mark with a whopper of a small mouth bass

Some anglers have begun their 2022 salt water fishing season by fishing for squid out in Nantucket Sound. Reports in the shop have been of varying results. Some days and nights have been fruitful with full buckets and coolers of the ink squirting creatures that are so delicious while also making an excellent bait. While other reports have been lackluster with only half full buckets after battling cold, wind and rain for hours. But, a wise man once told me “You know how much you will catch if you don’t go fishing.” SO, get out there!

Here is Carl with a beautiful 25” striped bass that he safely caught and released.

For our Tautog anglers we have live green crabs in the fridge and Joe Baggs Lay Perfect jigs to get your bait to the bottom. I have talked with several customers who have done well fishing for tog in the canal. For our boaters, Colliers is definitely a rock pile to try your luck.

As for the Striped Bass, schoolies are starting to come into the inlets and harbors and we have many reports of a fish or 2 being caught in Centerville, Osterville and Cotuit areas. With a few more warmer days that report will change to lots of fish and some bigger ones too!

Remember that May 14th 9am at Keyes Memorial Beach in Hyannis we will host our 2nd annual Surfcasting Seminar. Register for this informative, fun and FREE event at our Hyannis location or now on our website.

Sports Port’s Pro Staffer, “Striper Mike” will lead the group with a rundown on proper gear and general surfcasting information. We will then take that info and put it to use by taking some casts from the beach. Bring your own gear or you are welcome to use rods and reels we will have on hand for the event.

All ages are welcome. This event is perfect for beginners but also helpful for the more experienced anglers who may want some helpful tips to improve their cast. We will have a few prizes to raffle off too, so register now!

Schoolies, trout and oysters…OH MY!

Sports Port Pro Staffer Mike and I took his 14’ boat out to a pond in Falmouth in search of trout and bass. It was my first trout fishing trip EVER! Hard to believe, I know. I grew up really just fishing salt water with my dad. Now that I fish with my kids and we love pond fishing, we have yet to try our luck with the trout. The pond we frequent is loaded with large mouth and perch. I figured before I take my kids out for trout I should at least look like I have done this before! Mike was the perfect angler to show me the trout ropes as he has been fishing the ponds since he was a kid. We trolled and casted our hearts out while enjoying one of those beautifully sunny and warm “can’t believe it’s November” days. While the perch and bass were not jumping into the boat I did land a stocked rainbow trout while Mike managed a nice smallie with one of his custom made spinner baits. The choice lure for the trout was the Rapala Jointed in perch color.

I know other trout anglers are doing well with gold spoons as well as nightcrawlers and shiners. Fishermen and women are still catching schoolies in a few spots. Creeks, estuaries as well as the canal. In shellfishing news, oyster season is off to a great start and I know lots of folks are excited to have their oysters and “stuffies” for Thanksgiving!

Tight lines and full peck baskets!
Amy

Tog, striped bass, trout and OYSTERS!

You can NOT beat this November weather! Saltwater anglers are still catching striped bass from the beaches. Mostly schoolies, but one fishermen did land a 41” bass last week. Different customers are all swearing by different lures. One said the Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow. Another said the Savage Sand eel. While a third customer said he could only hook up on bucktail jigs. So, if one thing isn’t working try something else from your tackle bag.

The tog fishermen are also enjoying these mild fall days. We have been selling a ton of green crabs. A few guys have landed keepers out at Bishop and Clerks, but most fishermen have been having more consistent luck in getting their limit in Buzzards Bay.

On the freshwater side, fly fishermen have been having luck using mosquito dry flies over at Hamblins Pond. Spin fishermen are using powerbait and metal spoons.

OYSTER season started last week! Hooray! We have what you need to get whatever shellfish you fancy. Including those scallop dip nets!

Happy Fall Fishing…

Schoolie bass caught on the north side in November

Schoolie bass caught on the north side in November

Fall Fishing

The tautog are taking green crabs off of the rocky structures in Nantucket Sound. Many are shorts and have to be thrown back, but it sounds like if you put in the time you can get your limit with out having to go too far.

Bigger striped bass have been caught on live eels from shore at night in the bays, harbors and estuaries. Although, the Southside blues have been biting those eels in half, so bass hunters beware.

You may get lucky and hook an albie that’s still feeding on the small bait close to shore, but albie reports have quieted down the last week or two.

In fresh water reports, Fisheries and Wildlife has begun it’s fall trout stocking program. Several fly fishermen have reported good luck catching the holdover trout on small streamers, gnats and wet flies.

Albie caught on the fly
Trout and Tog

Fisheries and Wildlife have dispatched their trout trucks and stocked over 60,000 rainbows and 4,000 brown trout to various ponds across Massachusetts. You can go to the state’s website to find out which ponds get the fall trout stocking and when it was stocked.

Cape fishermen have reported that the trout are indeed more active now and spoons have been very effective in landing these freshwater fish.

Joey finds some trout at Shubael Pond

Joey finds some trout at Shubael Pond


On the salt water side of fishing, there is loads of bait in the southside bays and harbors. Feeding on that bait are lots of bluefish and some smaller sized striped bass. We are still getting sporadic reports of one or two albies being caught from shore, which proves that it never hurts to blind cast.

The Tautog bite is definitely picking up. Shawn stopped in on Friday to pick up some green crabs and reported back Saturday evening that they caught their limit of togs and not one short on the line. Thanks for the pics Shawn! If you ever have a photo you would like to share please email us.

Fishermen in the Canal have experienced hit or miss scenarios. Some have gone and been skunked or only finding schoolies, while other fishermen have been rewarded with hooking into a 40+ inch bass.

The northside boat fishermen have been finding some large bluefish. 16+ pound size range! Trolling squid imitations seem to work well as there has been some squid reported in/near the canal.

Last week there were reports of tuna in the Bay, but then it was discovered to be lots and lots of sunfish!

If the wind is too much for you to get out on the water today, then be sure to stop by Sports Port Too in Osterville to take advantage of our End of Season Sale. Our Hyannis store stays open year around, but SP Too will close for the season after Columbus Day weekend.