Sandy Neck Beach #604
Perhaps the easiest area to fish in the town of Barnstable. This is a very popular swimming beach in the summer but by walking a few hundred yards in either direction away from the parking lots you can always find water that is fishable. However, the best time to fish Sandy Neck in the summer is well after dark. In the fall when there is a northeast breeze, bass and bluefish will be caught very close to the beach even in full daylight. The best strategy here is to spend some time when the tide is low, scoping out the many sand bars and cuts between them that will be found every few hundred yards for miles down the beach, then return as the tide is rising to fish the cuts, which are prime places to find cruising stripers. Be aware that there is usually a deeper trough between the bars and beach itself and don’t get caught out on a bar as the tide rises, which it does at a rate of 6 inches every 15 minutes. Fishing Sandy Neck is only limited by how far you’re willing to walk – from the parking lots to Beach Point at the end of Sandy Neck is a stretch of about 7 miles and stripers may be found anywhere along this stretch. Look for weed and gravel patches (darker water).
Stripers will hit any of the Hogy lures that resemble sand eels, which are the primary baitfish from this area all the way up to Provincetown. Swimmers and small metal lures also work and if the fish are blitzing along the beach – a common occurrence in the fall – popping plugs can be a blast to fish. This beach is also perfect for fishing baits on the bottom with chunk menhaden and fresh sand eels your best options.
Location: End of Sandy Neck Road, off Route 6A on the border of East Sandwich and Barnstable.
Parking: Easy and plentiful. Fee charged during the day in the summer, free and open all other times, 24 hours a day (all vehicles must stop at gate house). Upper and lower lots adjacent to the beach.
Access: Easy. Short walk to the beach, then as long a walk as you care to make searching for fish!
Special Note: Sandy Neck is also open to off-road vehicles and campers but a permit must be bought at either Barnstable or Sandwich Town Halls. Also, certain safety equipment is mandatory for off-roading and all vehicles are checked before being allowed to access the sand roads. At certain times of year off-roading is severely limited due to the presence of nesting sea birds.