In the last week our fishery has filled in with schools of sand eels and lots of peanut bunker… What makes this so exciting is that these are the exact baitfish we need in our waters to feed the appetite of the albies. As most know, the False Albacore typically show the first week of September and the first fish is typically caught around Labor Day. While many expect boat fishermen to be the first, it is actually the beach guys who are the first to get them, typically on the inside of Great Point.
As for the current conditions, the aforementioned bait has brought with it a lot of small 2-3 lb bluefish. As much of the bait is on the west end of the island, most of these blues are around Tuckernuck and Muskeget. That being said, for most of the past week, there have been huge schools of blues hanging around both the east and west Jetties on both tides and many blues actually popping in the harbor as well.
Those targeting blues from the beach are still struggling, but there have been a few consistent spots, like coatue, smiths point and eel point. When we say consistent, we mean if you work, you should produce a couple of fish. The bait though is filling in through great point rip, so anyday now these blues will find Great Point in strong numbers as well.
As mentioned above, Smith’s Point is producing more fish, consistently, than anywhere else. Those fishing the west end are catching blues, schoolies and the occasional bonito.
The bonito bar, which was red hot through last week, has slowed down considerably. The bait is still plentiful, so we fully expect the greenbacks to end up back in our waters.This does not mean the fish are not here, just that a few hours will yield a few fish rather than 15+, which it was. While most of these speedsters are being caught west, some are still being caught around the Jetties and Great Point.
While the big bass are finally slowing down in the outer rips, more and more small bass are being caught in the opening and the shallows/edges around tuckernuck. Fishing out west has been real fun recently as there are blues/bass/sea bass/ and bonito all available.
The black sea bass have come back in our waters in a strong way in the last week. They are being caught west and in the rips between the Vineyard and Nantucket. The black bass continue to be plentiful as well down deep in the eastern edges as fishermen are searching for Fluke.
Speaking of Fluke, the east/west tournament was this past weekend and everyone we spoke with had a blast. Most people caught a lot of species, but the real good news is there are still a lot of fluke and sea bass in our waters.
While fishing this summer hasn’t been incredible, for those who put their time in, it has been very good. And it still stays that way. The best news too, is the best is in front of us and the bait is here and ready for the big fish to find it.
Tight Lines!