Beginning in early May things happen quickly as both stripers and often, early bluefish arrive on a daily basis. Speeding down the dark highway, I have already arrived (in my mind) more than an hour ago. There really aren’t any secret spots in the canal, at least if plugging is your game. Beyond that, fishing well after dark is just about a necessity if you want to catch stripers; bluefish may cooperate during the day however. They run out to George’s Bank or other offshore areas for a full day of bottom fishing for cod and haddock and sometimes the action can be quite good. Everyone is “New England quiet” — almost prickly. Next low tide. Most notably, however, freshwater fishing on Cape Cod is an enjoyable way for anyone to spend a day on the Cape. I have great family, friends and fishing experiences to be thankful for. What Everyone Ought to Know about Cape Cod Canal Fishing - Barnstable-Hyannis, MA - When it comes to Cape Cod Canal fishing, there are a few things you … Hit the canal out of Bourne and Sandwich, with Barnstable offering great access to the Cape Cod Bay. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A large tail smashes the surface as the fish struggles to dive into the current. In September the water is still very warm so night fishing is still the best way to go if you’re after stripers but with huge numbers of baitfish active both in the estuaries and in the open water the possibilities of catching bass during the day along with bluefish get better all the time. However it generally takes many years to learn which areas fish best at which tide. Fishermen come from all over the country each year because of an astronomical anomaly known as the breaking tides. If you were allowed to see what the darkness hides, you’d find an envious arsenal of plugs, two to four rods waiting for their call in modified PVC pipe holders attached to the bike with pipe clamps, various jigs and shads, a Gatorade, a coffee, maybe a doughnut. 6:42 PM. This modification keeps the kickstand from digging into the soft grass that grows along the banks. There is always some debate about whether the first fish that are caught are truly migratory specimens (identified by the presence of sea lice on their bodies) or holdovers that have left the estuaries but in any case, the striped bass season has begun. The canal gets more social media coverage than Trump, Hillary and Bernie combined when it’s on. The best baits for beginners are squats, pinkies, maggots and bread; When putting a maggot on a hook you must thread it through the flat end of the maggot; Hooks. Photos by John Doble. These elusive fish are never a sure thing but your best bet is Scorton where the state stocks brown trout. Our peninsula is chock-full of bait and tackle shops offering products and friendly advice for seasoned fishermen and enthusiastic beginners alike. Map of Cape Cod for https://freecapecodnews.com. Others turn right and make their way by Cotuit, Hyannis, Harwich on their way to Monomoy, and then make the turn up the long arm of the Outer Cape. The notch supports the basket, and the angled end provides maximum grip, digging in when the wind blows. “I love it because 90 percent of the time the fish are going to be there,” Hess says, “and I know that odds are it will be a pencil-popper bite. The outer Cape beaches should also be fishing very well for both stripers and bluefish. In reality the Army Corps of Engineers controls a passage that extends from Cleveland Ledge Light in Buzzards Bay to … Cape Cod Canal is the most popular shore fishing destination on the peninsula. This means that yesterday (August 15, 2018), the best times to head down the Canal from Buzzards Bay would have been 10:00 AM or 10:18 PM; the worst would be 3:36 AM and 4:06 PM. It’s the great power of these currents that draws baitfish into the “Big Ditch,” and huge numbers of striped bass follow them into what is the largest fish funnel on the East Coast. Trolling tubes and pitching live eels after dark along the Elizabeth Islands is very popular and some boating anglers on the Upper Cape fish nowhere else. One of the secrets of the canal is to use topwater lures and fish 30 minutes before the first light. I think my subconscious knows that her understanding hinges largely upon the fact that I rarely wake her. 1:30 AM. These tides occur when the current turns east (coming from Buzzards Bay) within an hour or so of first light. It extends from Provincetown in the northeast to Woods Hole in the southwest, and is bordered by Plymouth to the northwest.. Explore these pages to find the best saltwater and freshwater fishing spots on Cape Cod. Cape Cod Link to larger image. See below for some surf fishing access locations on Cape Cod. Offshore the tuna season begins in earnest with bluefin showing in good numbers off Provincetown and off Chatham. Ed Doherty of Mattapoisett said, “I caught a 17 pound striped bass and a friend landed a 25 pound fish last Friday. After a long offseason, ocean temps are on the rise, and striped bass are starting to … In the south of the cape, Falmouth and Harwich are your best bet to get you to the productive sounds. The top 4 spots to fish for striped bass in the Cape Cod area are: Barnstable Harbor; Wellfleet; Billingsgate Shoal; Race Point; 1. Most people think of the canal as the sea-level “river”, otherwise known as the land cut, connecting Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay. This canal connects Cape Cod Bay with Buzzards Bay in the south. In my opinion, September is the best month for Cape Cod striped bass fishing.For starters, striped bass show up in greater numbers.They are also usually much more aggressive. The rest of the game plays out on its own. The writer remembers the striper that made his world go topsy-turvy. Some town parking facilities are limited to town residents only (RO) and noted where applicable. There are usually two smaller shot which could be down to a size 10 or 12. Get in their way! Where to Find Cape Cod Fishing Gear. The faces are just silhouettes, dark and emotionless. The truth surrounding the whole ritual is that only the other soulless shapes in that lot truly understand it. Cast your offering out and hope for the best. Click through the gallery below to see more striper action from the Cape Cod Canal. From the Borne Bridge to the tip of Provincetown, out to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.A great resource for weather conditions, live … At least twice, blitzes spanned the canal’s entire 600-foot width. By Eric Williams. Another common addition is a length of pool noodle sliced and fitted over the basket’s rim, used as fast-access storage for favorite lures, the hooks jabbed into the foam. “The canal is its own environment, with its own techniques and its own unique group of guys who fish it; some stretches almost look like a wild river in Wyoming. As the sun reaches the 9 o’clock position and the dust of a great bite settles into the quickening tide, a buzz hangs in the air. Scorton Creek and a couple of the creeks in Falmouth, Childs River and Coonamessett River can be fished for sea-run trout all winter long. Note: Use of some ramps requires a fee or a parking sticker that may be purchased in advance. And most of us have learned the hard way that further modification is required. It’s just as easy to understand why the same people turn frosty when the fish don’t show. Click here to see Cape Cod Canal's tide chart for today. Learn how to create your own. Light tackle and fly fishing are the way to go for these small fish. Some years certain places such as Scorton Creek in Sandwich and upper Barnstable Harbor hold quite a few and while very few is any are of legal size the possibility of hooking up for the first time since the previous fall can be irresistible. Things shift into high gear in October and the Cape Cod Canal gets much attention from striper fans as fish from the north begin moving through. For hours at a time it was possible to throw a cast knowing that your plug would be engulfed within seconds. As low as 99¢ for the first month. The best baits for beginners are squats, pinkies, maggots and bread; When putting a maggot on a hook you must thread it through the flat end of the maggot; Hooks. Spring calls winter-weary anglers out of hibernation in search of the patterns and clues that point to the early runs of striped bass. There’s a grouchy old codger who rides with a 5-gallon bucket with plugs lining the rim resting in a seat meant for a child. While it’s still possible to take stripers during the daylight hours, shore based anglers begin spending much of their fishing time under the cover of darkness and hour or so just before dawn (which comes very early at this time of year) can be absolutely magical. But some years there will be virtually none. “For me,” says canal angler Joe Paiva, “it’s a simple love for the ultimate challenge that keeps me coming back. This article helps shorten the Cape Cod Canal learning curve. Striped bass migrating north in the spring and south in the fall must go around the cape, or take a short cut through the Cape Cod Canal. The Cape Cod Canal is a 7-mile, man-made shortcut between Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts. Interactive map of Cape Cod shore fishing spots, kayak spots, ramps, tackle shops available. We camp at Scusset Beach State Park, which has the best of both worlds - you've got the canal on one side and the beautiful beach on the other side! Stellwagen bank is located off the coast of Massachusetts between Gloucester and Cape Cod. It saves going all the way around the cape. The sun rising behind a curtain of gray clouds, the colors of night melting away, the morning sunlight blending to reveal a full spectrum of familiarity and hope, waiting for the first signs of life. Fluke (summer flounder), tautog and scup will be targeted by bait fishermen. The bass spread out quickly, some migrating around the Cape and some moving through the canal. Hooklength and Final Shot. If the bite was off, your mission is to find out if you were in the wrong place. Preparation in terms of appropriate clothing and perhaps sea sickness remedies is very important. It started with news of a mammoth 60+ pound striper which was caught somewhere in Buzzard’s Bay. Back in the 1980s when schools of menhaden kept the bluefish around it was even common to catch those fish right up until Thanksgiving but with the huge decline in those baitfish the blues leave much sooner now. Like a creaking stair in the middle of the night, the explosion shatters the quiet and rocks the anticipation of the 30 guys within earshot who have been waiting for someone else to show them that it’s time to fish. Canal bikes, as they’re commonly called, are mechanical expressions of the people who ride them. Others turn right and make their way by Cotuit, Hyannis, Harwich on their way to Monomoy, and then make the turn up the long arm of the Outer Cape. Cape Cod Canal tide table for the next week. Our season starts fishing for Cod and Haddock offshore to Stellwagen bank. The standby canal bike is a mountain bike — girls’ bikes are favored because of their low crossbar, which is easier for wader-clad (or just old and tired) feet to clear when getting on and off. But when the bite is off, good luck even making eye contact.”. Pulling into the lot at the Herring Run — a centrally located landmark on the mainland side of the canal from which a large percentage of everyday anglers shove off — I see dozens of other fishermen hurriedly moving gear from their vehicles into the baskets of their bicycles. Their conversations snap at a pace that only cocaine could keep up with — this is the adrenaline, what we wake for. Next high tide. The three bridges leading to the Cape over the Cape Cod Canal are the Sagamore, Bourne, and railroad bridges. ... did manage a personal best — an 11.16 ... Cape Cod Canal fishing has improved. Our peninsula is chock-full of bait and tackle shops offering products and friendly advice for seasoned fishermen and enthusiastic beginners alike. Best time to fish: Fish these places at dawn and dusk for best results, or go at night. Back at the lot, wide-eyed anglers are barking blow-by-blow accounts back and forth. By the second week of May the chances of catching big striped bass get better, due to the presence of herring, squid and other larger bait items. Cape Cod Canal anglers look forward all year to the “breaking tides” (slack water just before or at dawn) in June – this may be the best time of the entire year to catch very large bass on surface lures in The Big Ditch. There are usually two smaller shot which could be down to a size 10 or 12. The rhythm feels like work or war, but it’s all in preparation for the hopeful promise of adrenaline, a promise that is every bit as unjustified as it is undeniable. But seriously, where else in the world can you ride your bike on a paved road, look at beautiful scenery and catch big stripers along the way? A couple off shore “head boats” go out to George’s Bank all winter long from Hyannis and nearby Plymouth for cod and haddock and if you think you can put up with bone chilling wind, long rides through potentially rough seas and the physical labor involved with using heavy bottom fishing gear in deep water you may be rewarded with delicious, fresh fish. They usually stick to areas some distance from shore and are the targets of the boating crowd but occasionally in places like Woods Hole and along the Vineyard Sound side of Falmouth they may come in close enough for shore anglers to have brief opportunities. I could write a whole story about the methods I’ve seen for toting a hot coffee. But by mid July the first of those fish will show up, too. Welcome to the home of Cape Cod Webcams. Know the tides and the tidal coefficient in Bourne (Cape Cod Canal, sta. We’ve searched for and indexed the largest list of Cape Cod Live Cameras on the internet. Although the first migrating striped bass don’t usually show up along the south-facing beaches until the middle or end of April, local anglers will start hitting the estuaries in search of fish as early as late March or even earlier if the weather has been unseasonably warm. The typical recommendation is to fish about 2-3 hours before high tide to about 2-3 hours outgoing tide. This past July was one of the best months I can remember in my nearly 20 years fishing the Cape Cod Canal. 8:00 PM . Some will stay in the general area for the entire season, others continue north. So we asked our social media friends to tell us some of their watery favorites–thanks to everyone who chimed in, here is our Cape Cod Top 10: Favorite ponds list–click the name of the pond to find out more, including directions and amenities. Certain rips and eddies hold fish longer, and there are likely areas where stripers might corral bait when the tide comes up to full speed. Numerous 70-pound striped bass has been caught in the Cape Cod area, mainly around the canal. This is a defense mechanism that comes from sleeping next to a very understanding wife. How To Fish The Cape Cod Canal. Some head through the Cape Cod Canal and into Cape Cod Bay. Close to the beaches of Cape Cod Bay is a series of shallow water called the flats. Many years ago there was a viable fishery for winter flounder and smelt in the salt ponds and harbors in March but sadly, those fish have all but disappeared. It is the widest canal in the world. Both beach fronts and interior locales are good bets and if a herring run is nearby, so much the better. How To Fish The Cape Cod Canal. This narrow body of water is ideal for casting into from shore, with plenty of prized fish passing through as they make their way from northside to south (and vice-versa). A common cause of missing bites is having this final shot too far from the hook. I can set the alarm for any time — 2:37, 3:11, 1:55 — and wake up one to five minutes before it goes off, almost without fail. Worth a try with light spinning gear or a fly rod if the weather is decent. These are hardly ever true sea-runs, i.e., fish that were spawned in fresh water upstream and inhabit the brackish estuaries in the winter but some can be quite large. Just about every species that inhabit our waters is here with the exception of false albacore and bonito. The canal bike is one of the last remaining fingerprints of surf-casting ingenuity. The line hisses as it comes tight. “When the bite is on, they’re practically high-fiving, chest bumping and ass-slapping everyone that walks by. Seven Miles After Sundown: Surfcasting for Striped Bass Along the World Famous Cape Cod Canal The final shot on our rig are of crucial importance. The very best areas in the Canal usually support enormous rips, holes, and rocky peaks that fish flock to like bees to honey. How many holdovers may be around is highly variable. © 2020 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc., an Active Interest Media company. Places near Cape Cod Canal . Bottom fishing is still viable but seasonal closures can impact that type of fishing. Leaving the lot in darkness turns the ride into a prayer: that the spot you have in mind is not already occupied, that being late for work will be worth it. Bobby Ellinas slides a 54-pounder over the wrack weed and up the riprap. There is even the possibility of catching fluke – summer flounder – in the same areas. It was an odd pattern for the month because the stripers seemed to be migrating from the south, a phenomenon that usually slows to a trickle by early summer. Follow this link to find out more about: Martha's Vineyard. The Cape Cod Canal rivals Montauk Point as one of the best places, on the East coast, for catching striped bass. It’s funny how easy it is to convince myself that things are lined up just right. So we asked our social media friends to tell us some of their watery favorites–thanks to everyone who chimed in, here is our Cape Cod Top 10: Favorite ponds list–click the name of the pond to find out more, including directions and amenities. As defined by the Cape Cod Commission's enabling legislation, Cape Cod is conterminous with Barnstable County, Massachusetts. All Rights Reserved. This booklet shares with you the precise locations of 10 of the best Cape Cod Canal fishing spots, and the best tides for each hot spot. Cape Cod is the place for countless adventures like going to the beach and kayaking. Every set of tides is different, but when you hit one right, you’ll see scores of fish, some 40 pounds or better, drifting through with the tide, smashing mackerel, herring, whiting, butterfish and other baits on the surface. Striped bass is not the easiest fish to catch. Due to the close proximity of the flats to the shore, Cape Cod Bay is one of the best places for onshore fishing! The Bourne bridge is 2,684 feet, or about half a mile, in length, whereas the Sagamore bridge is 1,408 feet, or about a third of a mile, in length. A long cast upcurrent, the large Guppy Pencil Popper splashing down and working slowly, ushered by the slowing tide. The Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. The Cape Cod Canal is the widest canal in the world, and a central feature in navigation around Southeastern New England. Most have saddlebag-style baskets on the back; some have a basket mounted on the handlebars, too. You’ll see some bikes with bells and horns, some with funny license plates or bumper stickers, and some that look as if they could win a low-rider contest. And bluefin tuna begin to show off Provincetown and down the outer Cape to the waters off Chatham. When sunlight begins to penetrate the water, the fish push bait up through the water column, and packs of bass begin showing on the surface, punishing bait as they drift through the lazy current. Great months are often defined by one or two great tides, but we saw three multiday events in the span of July’s 31 days. The 8-week period between the beginning of May and the end of June may very well be the best time to fish around Cape Cod due to the variety of species available, usually warm weather and the summer crowds have yet to materialize. To renew a non-commercial lobster permit online, go to MassOutdoors, the website of the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game. Any stripers they encounter will most likely be “holdovers” – small fish that did not migrate and spent the winter well inside those estuaries, salt ponds or harbors. Hooks come in all different sizes; For canal fishing we use a size 18 or smaller; When fishing for small fish on the towpath side of the canal, we use a small hook. I dont have the extra money to get a new set up but i was thinking of throwing a live eel on the hook and throwing it out as far as i can and let the eel swim around and hopefully the stripers will eat it. I booked my 2019 Nantucket Shoals fluke dates in August 2018—and Captain Jeff Viamari’s calendar was already filling up. The waters around the Cape are known for striped bass fishing, and some of the largest striped bass have been caught there. Although the YouTube crowd was disappointed in last week’s set of “breaking tides,” Jeff Miller at Canal Bait and Tackle in Sagamore told me that he believes fish did move into the Ditch from Cape Cod Bay, but they were feeding deeper in the water column and continue to do so this week. Best Lures for the Cape Cod Canal Stripers. Trickle, trickle, trickle. Game Fish Fishing Regs Fishing Map Charts Lures Videos. Next high tide. Pictured Above:While habitat destruction, heavy fishing pressure, and predation by seals and cormorants have knocked down Cape Cod flounder numbers, there are still fish to be caught if you know where to look. The Cape Cod Canal is still producing fish. The Cape Cod Canal is loaded with awesome fishing spots for big striped bass. ... Read More→ I’m fortunate to have grown up on the beach, and I’ve been fishing since kindergarten. As you can see on the tide chart, the highest tide of 3.58ft was at 6:27 am and the lowest tide of 0.23ft was at 1:21 pm. It’s not just about the ocean on Cape Cod! One by one, the doors slam, and bikes with rods splayed out like the herls of a strutting peacock glide, rattling quietly, toward the access road. For saltwater fishing, or freshwater fishing, Cape Cod is hard to beat. Few places, if any, allow an angler to fish 30-plus foot depths mere yards away from where they’re standing. I've heard that you need a 10 foot rod to fish the cape cod canal, is this true? Fish and Game Office of Fishing and Boating Access (FBA) current or future facilities are italicized. He fishes the Stan Gibbs Cape Cod Canal Fisherman's Classic every year and his striped bass entry won the shore division in his first Buzzards Bay Anglers Club Fall Derby. After a few last prayer casts, I climb the steep embankment to join the other bikes on the path, hurrying back to the normal people in their normal day. It’s almost a party atmosphere on the best days. The very best areas in the Canal usually support enormous rips, holes, and rocky peaks that fish flock to like bees to honey. Cape Cod Bay. Has anyone ever fished with a rod under 10ft in the canal? If the bite was good, you’re speeding with the current to get back in front of the fish. Every bike has a main kickstand and a backup — some even have a third. Some years there are “holdover” schoolie size stripers in a few of the estuaries such as inner Scorton Creek, upper Barnstable Harbor and a few other creeks around the Upper Cape. In the south of the cape, Falmouth and Harwich are your best bet to get you to the productive sounds. I’m snapped back to reality as decision time comes: Should I cross the Bourne Bridge and fish the Cape side, or should I veer off the approaching exit and stay on the mainland side? The differences in tide timing and height between the two bays send water rushing through the canal at speeds as fast as 6 knots, but with extended slack periods that last about 30 minutes, when the two water bodies equalize before the current slowly creeps in the other direction. * indicates a shore fishing area. The Cape Cod Canal is still producing fish. However it generally takes many years to learn which areas fish best at which tide. Click on the icon to reveal more information about the spot. Click here to see Cape Cod Canal's tide chart for the week. While they are considered unpredictable, anglers may improve their chances of catching a striper by paying attention to the time of the day, the weather, and the tide. Cape Cod revolves around fishing, so you’ll have no trouble finding a charter. This booklet shares with you the precise locations of 10 of the best Cape Cod Canal fishing spots, and the best tides for each hot spot. The cod season starts April 16th and runs until the end of October. We’ve searched for and indexed the largest list of Cape Cod Live Cameras on the internet. All that’s need is a light rod or even a drop line with a small hook, small weight and small strips of squid for bait (available at most local tackle shops). Sacrifices are made, relationships are strained, sleep is lost because, unlike fishing in most other places, you can’t not go and not know what happened. 1.5K likes. For generations the outer beaches have been a favorite destination of anglers in beach buggies, some of whom save all their vacation time for the two week period around Columbus day. The Cape Cod Canal is one of the Northeast’s most productive striper fisheries. When the first stripers do show – usually out at Martha’s Vineyard but a few days later along the beaches of Mashpee and down toward Hyannis – the word gets out quickly and by the end of April you will notice fishing rods on top of many a car and truck on the Upper Cape. Writer Zach Harvey doesn't believe in a hierarchy of worthy quarry, instead preferring the underrated black sea bass. Things can heat up even from one tide to the next as wave after wave of migrating fish charge through. There’s nothing like getting them on top.”. The sun illuminating the world around me to the point that I know, instinctively, that it’s time to switch to a top-water plug. South of the Cape, including Rhode Island, however, there is a 10 fish/person/day limit in place, 21-inch minimum size. From surf casting to fly fishing the Cape has plenty to offer. Mackerel entering the canal from the east end were there to fan the flames as schools of 20- to 50-pound bass gorged themselves. Rocky areas or areas with a mix of rocky and sandy bottoms are best for sea bass and tautog; fluke prefer sandy bottoms such as are found on Mashnee Flats near the west end of the Canal and at Middle Ground between the south side of the Cape and the north shore of Martha’s Vineyard. Hit the canal out of Bourne and Sandwich, with Barnstable offering great access to the Cape Cod Bay. I might hit it tonight just to see if theyre there... but wondering if anyone else has . A couple of canal sharpies work the current near the Sagamore Bridge on a foggy day. Migrating Stripers sometimes take a short cut through the Cape Cod Canal. Ed Doherty of Mattapoisett said, “I caught a 17 pound striped bass and a friend landed a 25 pound fish last Friday. On the best mornings, more bass enter the canal from the west, and waves of bass move through, taking down anything that moves as they go. “Even though I live 100 yards from the Atlantic Ocean back home, I don’t think twice about the 300-mile drive to the canal,” he says. The tide is currently rising in Cape Cod Canal. Cape Cod is the place for countless adventures like going to the beach and kayaking. The wild card is always the possibility of tropical storms, which can heavily affect the presence and location of those fish. These fish susceptible to being caught on surface plugs in large numbers s most productive fisheries. The exception of false albacore will still be around is highly variable blitzes spanned the Canal gets social. Striped bass, go to MassOutdoors, the large Guppy Pencil Popper splashing down and working slowly, by... Season, others continue north, there is even the possibility of tropical storms which. 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