Buzzards Bay

Albies continue to be locked into their annoying pattern of here today, gone tomorrow, with boaters burning plenty of fuel looking for them. Most of the boaters looking for them have reported fits and starts, but not enough fish to even be remotely reliable.

I’m sure more than a few folks were really disappointed to see these winds settle in as the albie fishing had been off the charts right through Tuesday – or at least as long as boats managed to get out.

Any boat angler who knows anything about bass in upper Buzzards Bay is keeping a close eye on the happenings in the Canal as they should be aware that any departures from the Ditch via the west end could result in some great fishing opportunities.

On Wednesday morning at around 9:30 AM, Ken Shwartz and Jerry Coholon were about two thirds of the way from Mattapoisett to Woods Hole when they sighted something a bit larger than any fish they might be looking for: a finback whale.

It might take some time for the water to clear, but as long as there is bait near the west end of the Ca al, then fishing pogies, trolling the tube-and-worm, and even tossing plugs and big soft plastics such as Hogy’s will pay off.

The level of striper activity should increase around the rocks that mark the many “Necks” along the Cape side of the bay, as well as the many marshes and grassy shorelines up inside Phinney’s Harbor, Megansett, West Falmouth, and other spots, as the water temperatures drop and more and more bait begins to school

There are some good fish being caught on live eels along the edges of the main channel, both from the Maritime Academy to Onset and Gray Gables to Mashnee Island, but the average size is significantly smaller than what is being caught in the Big Ditch itself.

There are some schools of small bluefish, around four-pounds on average, in Wareham Bay and around the west entrance to the Canal, but schoolie bass are surprisingly a bit more difficult to find recently.

The fishing up around the Maritime Academy and Gray Gables has slowed as the schools of bass that had been producing some big fish for boaters using live pogies, especially in the morning, have moved into the land cut and haven’t move back out, explained Mike Thomas at M & D’s in Wareham.