Massachusetts fishing reports
498 reports for Massachusetts — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Albies and slot bass liven up Buzzards Bay corner ahead of weekend tides
Woods Hole held at 63°F this morning as the Vineyard Sound entrance into Buzzards Bay keeps fishing like early fall. Falmouth Bait and Tackle reports schoolie stripers along the Falmouth shore and bluefish working from Hyannis down to the Woods Hole entrance, with slot bass and blues taking topwater and metals around Nobska. At the Goose Hummock Shop, false albacore finally showed on the last two days of the week, a few pushing into the mid-teens. Black Rose Fishing Charters out of Bass River is running a mixed bag of tautog and striped bass, with the occasional albie mixed in.
False Albacore Arrive Late as Stripers Hold Strong in Cape Cod Bay
Cape Cod Bay is reading 61°F this week at NOAA's Chatham-area tide station, still warm enough to keep the fall bite rolling. Falmouth Bait and Tackle reports schoolie stripers working the Falmouth shoreline, with blues and a few slot bass mixing in around Nobska on topwater and metals. Sports Port has bass back in the Monomoy rips and in the canal, plus blues stacked up at Craigville Beach and along both sides of Hyannis. Goose Hummock Shop finally connected with false albacore over the last two days of the week, some running into the mid-teens, while Black Rose Fishing Charters out of Bass River is mixing tautog with stripers and the occasional pod of albies.
Fall run feeding settles in as Cape Cod Bay water cools
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 8449130 read 62.4°F at 1:24 PM EDT, cool enough that fall feeding habits are taking over. Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) reports the fall run has settled back onto the feed after a recent nor'easter, with fish back to eating as the water clears in most spots. Anglers Journal describes the late-season blitz as packed with action, with birds and baitfish gathering in the weeks before the equinox. Both accounts come from Rhode Island and the wider Northeast, so treat them as the regional pattern and scout the bay itself.
Bass and bluefish hold along Cape Cod beaches as the fall run builds
Water is holding at 62°F on buoy 44020 and at CO-OPS station 8449130, and striped bass remain the core of the bite. Per The Fisherman's Cape Cod & Islands roundup, Goose Hummock reports bass working the ocean beaches and inlets, with decent fish around Billingsgate and Wood End in Cape Cod Bay. Sports Port says bass are back in the Monomoy rips, while Falmouth Bait and Tackle reports schoolies along the Falmouth shore and bluefish and bones from Hyannis to Woods Hole.
Fall bass chasing bait as the topwater season turns
Tactical Bassin's October lineup calls the fall bite active, with bass chasing baitfish and responding to topwater, swimbaits and crankbaits. Their newest video describes suspended fish in open water as hard to catch, so bait choice and retrieve cadence matter more than usual this month. Shorter daylight through October compresses the productive windows, so the first and last hours of light are the ones to plan around.
Fall cooldown is the pattern to plan around at Quabbin and Wachusett
Early October is the seasonal shift to plan around on Quabbin and Wachusett. As surface water cools and daylight shortens, fish typically feed more actively ahead of winter. Tactical Bassin (blog) describes the same October pattern for bass: fish chasing baitfish, with topwater and swimbaits doing the work.
Falmouth schoolies and early bluefish as the fall run takes hold
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 8449130 read 65°F this morning, and the nor'easter that just passed has cleared enough for the fall run to show. Per Saltwater Edge Blog (RI), bluefish are still in force and tautog are chewing after the October new moon. The Fisherman — Cape Cod & Islands reports that Falmouth Bait and Tackle is seeing bass and bluefish moving down the Falmouth shore and into the harbors, with schoolies to slot-sized fish and the occasional albie within reach of the jetties.
Stripers push inshore on peanut bunker as the fall run takes hold
Water is holding at 65°F at NOAA station 8447930 and 64°F at 8447386 in Fall River, and peanut bunker have shown up inshore. Falmouth Bait and Tackle reports bass running from schoolies to slot fish inside the harbors and off the jetties, with bluefish working down the Falmouth shore. Sports Port has blues and schoolies in close along the south side from Craigville and Dowses.
Slot Stripers Push Into Plymouth Harbor After Nor'easter
Cape Cod Bay held at 64.8°F at NOAA's Boston-area station (8449130) as of Wednesday evening, comfortable water for the fall transition. Per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME, peanut bunker showing up inshore has set the table for a strong run of around-slot striped bass pushing into Plymouth Harbor, Pegotty Bay, and the Shore Acres area. The Fisherman — Cape Cod & Islands adds bluefish mixed with schoolie-to-slot bass along the Falmouth shore and inside Barnstable Harbor, with bait pushed toward Wellfleet Harbor. The first nor'easter of the season just cleared the region, and per The Fisherman (Northeast), the blow is credited with kicking the broader fall striper run into gear up and down New England.
Yellow perch and bass keep biting Central MA ponds after storm
A cool, breezy week gave way to weekend storms across the Central Wildlife District, per Jerry's Bait and Tackle, but the area's ponds kept producing. At Milford Pond, young anglers working shiners from shore landed big yellow perch alongside small largemouth bass, while kayak angler Brian worked Hopedale Pond for a handful of average-sized largemouth. Early October finds Central MA's warmwater ponds settling into their typical fall pattern, with both species feeding as the water cools.
Cooling ponds spark Massachusetts bass bite ahead of fall trout stocking
Cooler late-September air is doing the work now. Largemouth bass fishing has picked up at ponds in the Miles Standish State Forest area, with Fearing Pond and Long Pond producing on senkos as water temperatures drop, per Red Top Sporting Goods. Jerry's Bait and Tackle reports big yellow perch coming off shiners from shore at Milford Pond, twenty slab crappies on worms at Mashpee-Wakeby Pond, and average largemouth from a kayak angler working Hopedale Pond. Brown trout anglers are watching holdover fish while the fall stocking window approaches; Roger Aziz notes a thin, likely-spawning brown taken from the Lake Mattawa shoreline, with past-season holdovers expected staged near the dam at Stile's Pond.
Cape Cod stripers hold steady as bunker push fuels the bite
Water temps sit at 64°F this morning across NOAA CO-OPS stations 8447930 and 8447386, comfortable for the fall migration building through the region. Around Falmouth, striped bass are running schoolie to slot size along the shore, in the harbors, and off the jetties, with bluefish mixed in and an occasional false albacore working within casting range, per The Fisherman — Cape Cod & Islands. Up in Barnstable Harbor and off Harding Beach, the same feed reports bass holding in a similar wind-and-bait-driven pattern. Further north on the South Shore, peanut bunker have pushed inshore and set the table for a run of around-slot stripers moving into Plymouth Harbor and Pegotty Bay, per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME. Small blues remain mixed into bait schools off Craigville and Dowses Beach as well.