Fishing on Cape Cod in August
Fishing started strong on Cape Cod this year, with a record number of fish in the Cape Cod Bay and one of the best striper seasons in years. A cold spring meant that anglers May, anglers experienced great success all over the waters of Cape Cod with large catches well into July. If you’ve heard of the August doldrums— the notorious lull in fishing action that can occur in the heat of high summer—don’t fret… they don’t seem to apply to the waters of Cape Cod. Fishing in August on the Cape can be less of a late-summer-lull, and more of an extension of July’s prosperity. Between the bays, the hundreds of kettle ponds, and that wide open Atlantic Ocean, there are fish to be caught for every kind of fisherman.
On-Shore Fishing
The warm summer water of August mean larger fish have finally traveled far from shore to cooler depths. This makes on-shore fishing a bit more challenging, but not impossible. If you are bound to the shore, going out at night and just before dawn may be your best bet to catch large stripers. The large fish become bold in the dark, and it can pay off to scope out a location during the day and return at night to test your luck. Foggy and rainy days can also help.
August is also a great time of year to trek down to your local dock or jetty and fish for scup. Scup is a thin flat fish that can be very fun to catch and holds up well at the dinner table. You only need a light rod, or even just a dropped line with a small hook, weight and strips of squid. Because scup are active, hungry, and quick, scup fishing can be an incredibly fun activity with kids. It’s also possible to catch fluke in the same manner, though scup are more common.
Fishing in the Cape Cod Canal can be spotty, but can certainly pay off. Last August saw tons of large stripes bass in the canal and while bigger gear is needed due to the strong current, the patient fisherman may be rewarded with a large catch. The suggestion for night and early morning fishing apply here as well, and the pre-dawn and dusk hours can be the most successful for catching larger fish.
Off-Shore Fishing
While it is possible to catch larger fluke, black sea bass and tautog by fishing on shore, you will have far more luck if you’re able to get on a boat and into cooler waters. Rocky areas can be great for sea bass and tautog. The warm waters of Nantucket Sound are home to the squid loving fluke and summer flounder. Try heading into Nantucket Sound for black sea bass, scup, fluke and bluefish.
Speaking of bluefish, August is a great month if you’re looking for blues. Although bluefish show up in almost all of the waters around Cape Cod, they can especially be found in places where there is outflow from an estuary or salt pond. Catching bluefish can be a great introduction into sports fishing, as their aggressive nature causes them fight the line. This action also makes them great for family trips. If handled correctly, bluefish can be an excellent dinner table fish, especially when grilled or smoked. Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound is a popular location for catching blues.
Perhaps the most popular fishing in August is of large bluefin tuna’s and because you need special gear to catch these massive fish (they surpass 700 lbs), a fishing charter can be a great way to get some experience and enjoy the thrill of tuna fishing. By the end of July, recent arrivals from the waters of the south include bonito, false albacore and sometimes Spanish mackerel. These fish can be as popular to fish as bluefin tuna and because they tend to stick to areas some distance from shore, your best bet is to fish these guys from a boat. While these fish are fast and sometimes frustrating to fish, they are hugely rewarding and should be fished with light tackle. The waters of Nantucket Sound and Buzzards Bay are where you will find them.
Pond Fishing
When the last ice age crept through Cape Cod, slow moving glaciers ground depressions into the sandy soil, creating hundreds of fresh-water kettle ponds… over 360 to be exact. These ponds may be one of Cape Cod’s best kept fishing secrets. They are stocked with brown, rainbow, brook and tiger trout, as well as small and largemouth bass. By August, the temperature of these ponds has raised and trout tend to seek the cooler depths of the pond’s center. A kayak or canoe is a great option for fishing trout in August, and is also a wonderful way to spend the day and to explore the larger ponds of Cape Cod. Additionally, night and dawn fishing in these ponds can prove incredibly successful. Brown trout are notorious nocturnal feeders. In lower light conditions, trout are not as easily spooked and they tend to creep towards the shore seeking easy meals. You can also find chain pickerel, yellow perch and sunfish in these ponds which can be caught by spinning, bait-casting or fly fishing. Pond fishing is also a great option for kids, especially those who are just starting to fish, and yellow perch can be easily caught with an old-fashioned worm-on-hook. Some great locations include the ponds of Nickerson State Park, Flax Pond, Long Pond and Higgins pond. Spectacle and Peters Pond in Sandwich are great options if you’re looking to catch large mouth bass. Night crawlers, shiners and power bait are the most recommended bait for fishing these kettle ponds.
Whether spending a morning with the kids in the harbor catching bottom fish, an afternoon seeking trout and exploring a kettle pond in a kayak, or a day on the open ocean on a fishing charter, there is a memory to be made fishing on Cape Cod. Our number one piece of advice is to stop by your local bait and tackle shop. The experts at these shops are incredibly forthcoming with tips and trends and they are always happy to share their “secret” spots and techniques.