Cotuit Harbor Entrance #627
There are two options here, both off the one-way Oceanview Avenue in Cotuit village. In both cases, parking is restricted during the day in the summer to Barnstable residents only but is also sometimes enforced during the night so both of these spots are best fishing in the spring and fall. This is fine however, as those times feature the best fishing for striped bass and bluefish. The first is called Loop Beach by the locals. Look for a “Town Way to Water” sign on the left side of Oceanview Avenue and park along the side of this short road (an extension of Cross Street but not marked as such) at the top of the hill, not on the bottom where driveways may be blocked. This is the narrowest place at the entrance of the harbor with deep water just off the small beach and in the spring and fall it almost always holds bass and/or bluefish. The small jetty is the prime casting spot but the long beachfront that stretches to the north toward a sandy point can be excellent too. Do not fish the beach to the south of the jetty to avoid confrontations with owners of the multi million dollar mansions that line the shore. Hogy Original Series and Skinnies wrok well here, as do the Sand Eels. All other standard striper lures can be effective and live eels drifted at night can produce huge bass.
The second option is within sight of the first – a town beach with a parking lot a bit farther down Oceanview Avenue. The water off the beach is fairly shallow and the channel runs away from the beach front here so the best bet is to walk and cast along the beach to the south of the parking lot. Stripers and blues will often blitz bait very close to shore here, especially at the top of the tide. Pre-dawn and dusk are best bets but again, it is unwise to park here at the height of the summer season unless you have a Barnstable parking permit.
Location: Both areas off Oceanview Avenue, Cotuit, within a quarter mile of each other.
Access: Easy but restricted (see above).
Parking: Very limited at Loop Beach, large lot at town beach. Both restricted (see above).