Stripers push inshore on peanut bunker as the fall run takes hold

What's biting

What's next

The next two to three days should keep fish close to the beaches and harbors while the swell settles. Dave Anderson, in The Fisherman's South Shore report, has slot stripers moving into Plymouth Harbor, Pegotty Bay and Shore Acres behind peanut bunker, so those are the first stops. Goose Hummock Shop has bass in Barnstable Harbor and at Harding Beach, where wind and waves were driving bait along the shore toward the Race and into Wellfleet Harbor.

Plan around the tides: station 8447930 turns at a 2:50 AM high and 10:19 AM low, and station 8447386 at a 2:47 AM high and 7:46 AM low. Fishing the flood after the late-morning low is the window to try in the harbor mouths. If the water settles back toward the low 60s, the bass bite inside the harbors should firm up first.

Context

Early October is the build-up to the fall run in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. Water in the mid-60s is normal for this stretch of the calendar and keeps bass and bluefish feeding on bait as the days shorten. Albies are typically still moving offshore at this time of year, so a single fish inshore is normal rather than a sign of a run. This is on schedule for the region.