The weather forecast isn't looking ideal, but Memorial Day weekend is still shaping up to be one of the better early-season fishing opportunities Cape Cod has seen in quite a few years. The consistent theme across reports coming into the shop and our online sources, is that water temperatures finally jumped into perfect range for many species, bait is flooding in, and multiple fisheries are turning on all at once!
Here’s the breakdown by species and region:
Striped Bass Forecast
The striped bass bite looks excellent across most of the Cape heading into the weekend. Large migratory fish are now well established in Buzzards Bay, the Canal, South Side beaches, and parts of Cape Cod Bay. Reports mention fish from the mid-20-inch range up into 40+ inch class bass.
Best Bets
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Cape Cod Canal
Strong jig bite with fish feeding aggressively on herring and mackerel. Early morning tide changes should be prime. Expect crowds. Lots of crowds.
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Buzzards Bay
Big bass continue moving through with southwest winds helping push bait and warmer water.
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Nantucket Sound
Schoolies and slot fish mixed with bluefish. Topwater bite is improving quickly.
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Cape Cod Bay
Better numbers of fish showing, especially around shoal edges and breaking fish at dawn.
Best Techniques
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Canal: heavy jigs, soft plastics, Al Gags, paddletails
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South Side: pencils, spooks, soft plastics
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Bay trolling: tube-and-worms, mojo rigs
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Nantucket Sound Beaches: needlefish and darters
The biggest challenge may actually be finding legal slot fish. Many reports mention oversized bass dominating the catch right now. Massachusetts regulations remain one fish between 28" and under 31".
Bluefish Forecast
Bluefish officially arrived this week and reports say they showed up “in numbers.”
Hot Areas
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Nantucket Sound
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Vineyard Sound
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South Side rips and beaches
This could be the first truly good bluefish weekend of the season. Surface feeds are already happening, especially mornings and evenings.
Topwater plugs, pencils, and poppers should be very effective.
Fluke, Scup & Bottom Fishing
Bottom fishing may quietly be the sleeper fishery this weekend.
Reports indicate:
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Fluke season is now open
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Scup fishing is rapidly improving
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Tautog action remains solid
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Sea bass activity is increasing in Nantucket Sound
Best Areas
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Nantucket Sound
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Buzzards Bay
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Vineyard Sound structure and shoals
Best Baits
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Squid strips
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Bucktails tipped with Gulp
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Green crabs for tog
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Sea worms, Clam and squid for scup
Surfcasting Outlook
This weekend could produce very good surf action, especially:
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Upper Cape nighttime tides
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South Side dawn blitzes
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Canal tide changes
Wind direction will matter. If southwest winds stay moderate, expect cleaner water and better topwater opportunities on the South Side. Strong east wind would likely push anglers toward protected Bay and Canal areas.
Overall Memorial Day Fishing Grade
|
Fishery |
Forecast |
|
Striped Bass |
Excellent |
|
Bluefish |
Good |
|
Fluke |
Maybe |
|
Scup |
Very Good |
|
Tautog |
Good |
Most Likely “Hot Bite” This Weekend
The consensus from reports is:
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Big striped bass in the Canal and Buzzards Bay
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Bluefish blitzes on the South Side
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Improving mixed-bag bottom fishing in Nantucket Sound