South Cape Beach #624

Perhaps the easiest place to fish on the Nantucket Sound side of the Upper Cape, South Cape is known for both casting and bottom fishing. Most anglers park at the Mashpee Town Beach and cast along the beach directly off the lot. This is also the favorite area to fish chunk bait for bass and blues and sea worms fished here will yield all the scup you can catch. However, there are other options depending on how far one wants to walk. To the east of the town beach area is the State Beach (an extension of the same beach front) and fish can be found anywhere along here. Walking to the point you will see about a half mile down the beach to the east is worth the effort in spite of the soft sand because a strong rip with drop offs can be found there; this is often a better option than fishing along the featureless beach in front of the parking area. Proceeding along the beach in that area, behind the New Seabury golf course you will come to more small rips and many of them attract bass and bluefish.

In the opposite direction from the town parking lot (south) you will see a long jetty in the distance. It marks the entrance to Waquoit Bay, a huge bay and harbor that is very popular with boaters but also holds many bass of all sizes. If you would like to fish the jetty the best plan is to walk down the interior of the long spit of land leading out to it rather than trying to walk the mile of very soft sand along the Sound. There are paths leading down the spit. Some fishermen prefer to fish their way down on the bay side of the spit – although the action won’t be as consistent as on the ocean side, some huge bass are taken in the shallows along that side every year. This is a good strategy in low light conditions.

Location:  Southern end of Great Oak Road.

Access:  Easy, directly in front of parking lot.

Parking:  Fee charged during the day in the summer; free and open all other times. Be sure to lock vehicle and do not leave valuables in plain view.