Cape Cod Fishing Report 5/23/24

I sure am glad that I wasn’t on the water this morning in upper Buzzards Bay, especially around the west entrance to the Canal, as we got his with a long stretch of strong thunderstorms up here in Pocasset. My friend Gerry told me that in Woods Hole they got some heavy rain, but no noise-and-light show. Go figure. Speaking of which, I double checked my weather forecast site that I used and they had the same info as last night – some light rain – even as my dogs were running for cover.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to check the radar before venturing out as it shows you what is happening and what is coming as opposed to some prediction.

Connor Swartz at Red Top in Buzzards Bay said a customer came in and picked up another pair of those popular shad body umbrella rigs; they were both white and he has been trolling them on braid around the west entrance to the Canal. I’m not familiar with these rigs in terms of weighting, but apparently the combination of the weights of the lures and the metal frame are enough to get down where he has found the fish holding.

I know in spots like Woods Hole umbrella rigs are often fished on wire due to the combination of current and water depth, and at an ASMFC striped bass hearing hosted by the state Division of Marine Fisheries last November a number of charter captains out of Falmouth and the Vineyard said they had been doing well trolling these rigs on wire somewhere down around Gay Head as they were targeting larger bass in deep water.

Mark Tenerowicz told me that there have been some big fish hanging in the deep water outside Mattapoisett back west towards Fairhaven and there a few boats targeting them using umbrella rigs on wire.

And remember that a change in tide and current direction can change your fortunes as Ken Shwartz and his friends discovered earlier this week, especially if you are targeting surface action. They ran from Dartmouth to the west entrance of the Canal in the morning on Tuesday with little to show for the run, but Ken suggested that with the change to a dropping tide, he wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t run into some flocks of terns that have been helpful in marking schools of bass feeding on small bait.

Now, Mark is one of my favorite anglers since he likes topwater fishing as much as I do and he understands that his kayak allows him to get in skinny water studded with rocks and other obstructions where a boater dare not venture – unless he has unlimited funds to spend on props and/or lower units. He has been consistently finding surface feeding bass up inside his home waters and around the corner inside Fairhaven; there are some slot fish mixed in as well as a fair number of genuine schoolies from 16 to low 20-inch range, which is news I really welcome. At times they have been willing to hit the smaller Hogy Charter Grade Popper, but especially up in really shallow water soft plastics in pink or amber have been more effective.

Mark has also caught at least one large bluefish in this area, which of course hit and destroyed one of his plastics as opposed to falling for a hard body plug, but I’m sure it was easier getting the single hook out of those toothy jaws as opposed to wrestling with sets of trebles.

There are schools of pogies up inside Wareham and around the west entrance to the Ditch and Connor and others have been targeting the bass show up each year in these waters this time of year. This is one area where big spooks like the Hogy Charter Grade Dog Walker XL produced some super-sized bass on this style of plug which got its start as a musky slayer. Connor did point out that at times the bass will knock a spook around or shadow it without committing and in those situations a change over to a pencil popper, which has more of a splashing, erratic movement unlike the rhythmic slide-and-swing of a spook, can pay dividends by almost forcing a fish to eat it. Sliders, whether jointed or one piece like the Hogy Charter Grade Slider, are another plug style to try and draw out fish that are holding around pogy schools. These are versatile plugs that can be fished with a fast retrieve close to the surface or allowed to drop down deeper and worked with a more deliberate side-to-side action.

This is not blindcasting, but rather targeting specific pieces of structure – whether visible or beneath the surface – as described in Capt. Mike’s Boulder Fields & Reefs Approach.

The plug action is best in the early morning around first light and again at dusk with things slowing as the sun gets higher in the sky. Cloudy days can extend the plug action, but if you opt for livelining pogies, Connor acknowledged, then the bite can be good all day. At this point in the season, you will find pogies in shore, typically from dusk to early morning, but overall the schools in Buzzards Bay can be found in deeper water during the day, Connor noted.

Folks can continue to find good numbers of smaller bass up inside areas such as Monument Beach, Barlow’s Landing, Megansett, Nye’s Neck/Wild Harbor, and West Falmouth, but don’t be surprised if you encounter some slot and larger fish that wallop your smaller lure, with the small Hogy Charter Grade Popper and small spooks, with the Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow and Heddon Zara/Super Spook two of my favorites. White or bone are always great colors to start with, but for whatever reason, a clear plug can fire up spooky fish.

Connor said his friend managed five slot fish in the evening up inside Phinney’s Harbor yesterday evening using a white, plastic Finnish style swimmer; numerous tackle companies have produced their own version of this style that originated with the Rapala – which is why I insist on labeling them Finnish – and they do each have a unique swimming motion or pattern. The one issue I have with them is that their action is often dependent on the multiple treble hooks – sometimes as many as three sets – they are rigged with, resulting in foul hooked with damage to gills, eyes, and bodies of fish that are going to be released. Unlike topwater plugs such as poppers and spooks that can be catch-and-release rigged – with one belly hook and a flag – swimmers must be tuned to maintain the action their designer intended.

Ultimately, of course, using soft plastics such as the Hogy Originals or jigs such as Hogy Pro Tail or Slow Tail will do less damage as well as fish every layer of the water column.

Unlike Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds where the black sea bass bite is garnering the most attention of the ground fishing crew, the water is still on the colder side in Buzzards Bay, according to Connor, which is fine with folks who prefer to target tautog around the myriad pieces of rocky structure in the bay and therefore find BSB’s an annoyance since they are so aggressive and have no problem going after a green crab bait. While many folks immediately head out for spots such as Cleveland’s Ledge, Bird Island, or Southwest Ledge, just to name a few pieces of popular “sticky” structure in Buzzards Bay, there are still some good tog to be had close in around Wing’s Neck, Scraggy Neck, Nye’s Neck, and West Falmouth. And the entire north or B-Bay side of the Elizabeths – and we’ll toss Woods Hole for good measure – harbor some great tautog fishing.