Cape Cod & Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass

Schoolie Striped Bass

The shallow waters of Nantucket and Vineyard Sound warm fast in the spring and the first game fish to arrive are the aggressive school size stripers. The fish can be found on the shallow sand flats of these sounds. Many times we’ll sight cast in waters only 4-10 feet deep with light tackle and fly rods. These fish are feeding on the plentiful bait that has also migrated inshore. The “hatch” we’ll be matching is silversides, squid and herring. Stripers are one of the most sought after sportfish and these fish are tremendous fun on light tackle for anglers of all skill levels. Most of these fish are catch and release only but often times we’ll encounter legal size 28” plus stripers and anglers may elect to keep one for the table.

Striped Bass

The rips of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard will see larger striped bass move into these waters in May. Still abundant with bait such as squid, herring, silversides and juvenile scup Nantucket sound and Vineyard sound are alive with hungry game fish and we’ll put you in a position to catch them. Large striped bass at this time of year can be found on top of the shoals in water only a few feet deep and will invoke vicious surface strikes. The fish can also be found in the deeper 30’, 40’ and 50’ holes which we jig with lead head hairball jigs using Penn senator reels spooled with wire line. This technique allows us to get down to the fish quickly and with the wire line we have no line stretch which allows the angler to feel connected to the lure and will immediately feel the strike and subsequent hook set like no other method of fishing they’ve felt before. Striped Bass at this time of year will regularly be keepers or fish over the Massachusetts 28” size limit and as the month rolls along the size of these fish will increase as well. Trophy bass are not uncommon near the end of the month. Join us in May for fantastic striped bass fishing on the waters of Cape Cod.

Trophy Striped Bass

June is the month of Trophy striped bass. We will be targeting big fish that hold in the deep troughs of the sound. The waters of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard sounds hold big stripers at this time of year and we will be using wire line and lead head jigs to target them. World record fish have been caught in these waters and fish in the 30 to 40 pound class are not uncommon. The fish are feeding on or near the bottom on crabs, squid, herring and scup. We use Raytheon Marine fish finders and Garmin GPS to directly pin point holding fish at the many locations we’ve personally marked over the years that consistently hold fish. With the 27’ Conch Center Console powered by twin 200 hp Honda outboards we don’t waste time in areas that don’t hold fish. If we are not marking fish we move quickly from location to location until we find fish on the Raymarine sounder. Heavy equipment is called for and we use Penn Senator 4/0 reels spooled with wire line. From the wire we use fluorocarbon leader material tied directly to our own 2 to 6 oz Hairball jigs. Using wire line allows the angler to feel connected directly to the jig and hook sets using this method of fishing is abrupt and the head shake you feel from a big keeper striped bass will keep you coming back for more.

July is another Trophy striped bass month. We will again be targeting big fish that hold in the deep troughs of the sound. As the waters warm later in the month the fish will move offshore to deeper, cooler water. We will be using wire line and lead head jigs to target and as the month progresses and the waters warm we will switch to other techniques. Tube and worm rigs will be the choice in late July. Tubes are fished extremely slowly and again deep with wire line. Stripers tend to get a little lethargic late in the month and this method is the most productive way to fish. The smell of sea worm on the hook of the tube is said to trigger the bass to strike. Again world record fish have been caught in these waters and fish in the 30 to 40 pound class are not uncommon. The fish are feeding on or near the bottom on crabs, squid, herring and scup. The Raytheon Marine fish finders and Garmin GPS quickly put us on the fish. With the 27’ Conch Center Console powered by twin 200 hp Honda outboards we don’t hesitate to move when conditions are slow in one area. Penn Senator 4/0 reels spooled with wire line and fluorocarbon leaders are tied directly to the jigs or tubes. Using wire line allows you to feel directly connected to the striper like no other fishing method. Big keeper striped bass hit like a freight train and we’ll connect you to one guaranteed!

View our calendar of the best times to fish for Striped Bass, Bluefish, Bonito & False Albacore, Bluefin Tuna, Sharks and Marlin off the coast of Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard island.