With the full moon quickly approaching anglers are getting geared up for a possible Canal blitz in the coming days. Fishing throughout the week was slow in the Canal, although the Striped Bass are not as active, there is still plenty of bait in both the west and east end. With many fish still being caught in Buzzards Bay, the morning east tides are looking very promising for another big school of fish to enter the Canal. Although the stripers weren't hot this week, the bluefishing in the east end has been phenomenal. Most of these are being caught on jigs, causing frustration with those who use soft plastics. Check back Tuesday for an update during those moon tides and tight lines everyone!

Over the weekend, fishing in the Canal has definitely slowed down compared to what we saw last week. The topwater bite has died out, as the jig bite has stayed relatively consistent. Hitting key spots and deep holes is the key to success when jigging the Canal as fishing continues through early June. Seabass out in Buzzards Bay has been absolutely stellar. If you can find deeper water in areas like Cleveland's ledge, you will have more success in locating big blue heads. As the weather gets warmer and water temperature increases, these larger seabass will move closer to large rock piles and drop offs surrounding the Mashnee Flats. As the year goes on, the fishing is only going to get better so don't get discouraged by one slow weekend. A big thank you to those who have served in our US Military and your sacrifice for our country. Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend and tight lines!

Fishing in the Canal has started to slow down with the east tide moving further into the day. There are still fish being pulled on the west tide in the early mornings, however these fish seemed to be in smaller slot size range. On the east tide turn there are still bigger fish being pulled on topwater and jigs despite it being later in the day, just not in the quantity we've seen in the past week. With mackerel and pogies still stuck in the east and west end respectively, these Striped Bass seem to be going no where. So, if you still want to get your shot at some big fish in the Canal, now is your time before the warm weather in June pushes the bluefish in heavier than they already have. Fish are also being caught up on the north shore beaches up to 30lbs, showing these fish are continuing their migration north up towards Boston Harbor. Keep in mind starting today, the new slot limit in Massachusetts is now 28" to less than 31".

With stronger tides from the new moon over the weekend, the Canal is still fishing strong. With fish size ranging from smaller schoolie sized fish in the east end, to larger fish up to 30 pounds as you move further west. Although the east end has these smaller fish, there are still much larger fish mixed in if you want to try and avoid the large crowds. These fish are cruising the middle of the Canal in all columns of the water. Early morning tides have made topwater plugs and jigs very effective, however you can still get fish on swimming lures like the Berkley Magic Swimmer. The fish pictured below (Red Top employees Bull and Ian) were caught on white pencil poppers right at day break. Definitely recommend waking up early before work and heading down there if you want to get on some quality fish while these moon tides are still willowing out. With the number of fish around right now, I do not see the Canal slowing up any time soon as water temperatures are remaining steady and the bait seems to be going no where. Have a good week and tight lines everyone! 

With a strong wind coming out of the southwest for the later half of the week, we have seen a multitude of Stripers continue their journey up the east coast. Beaches on the south side of the Cape are holding larger class fish on bunker and squid all the way up into lower Buzzards Bay. Large amounts of smaller fish inside the harbors in the Falmouth area washing up dead, concerning anglers. The DWF has explained this as a result to the recent cinder worm hatch that has just occurred in the past few weeks. Stripers have actually gorged themselves to death on these cinder worms, which clearly explains why there are such a large number of these fish washing ashore. Moving up towards the Canal, the fishing has been doing extraordinarily well. With fish up to 50 pounds being caught in the west end, with fish spanning the entire length in the early morning. Anglers are happy to say after a strong jig bite last year, we have finally seen a very strong topwater bite from the Herring Run all the way down to the end of the Scusset Jetty in the early mornings. If you haven't gone out yet, now is the time. Tight lines everyone!

If the word isn't out yet, the Stripers are here. With plenty of mackerel in the Canal, fish are being caught consistently on topwater in the early morning, as well as jigs. The key to finding these fish is to chase the tide and find the bait. What ever way the tide is running, get to that end and wait for bait and the Stripers will quickly flow in from the middle of the Canal, or push in from one of the bays. Rumors of Bluefish in the east end, but I cannot yet confirm this. Fish are also being caught out in the surf in both Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay. With pogies being the primary bait in Buzzards, at night stick to larger profile baits if you want to target the bigger fish cruising the flats. I hope everyone has a great week and check back Friday for another report. Tight lines everyone!

With warmer weather over the past week I have found myself having the worst cabin fever of my fishing career. Thursday night I spent about 6 hours searching for the elusive holdover stripers with the faint hope of being the first to say there's fresh fish on the Cape. Unfortunately, I didn't catch anything but a lot of mosquito bites. However, just because I didn't catch anything, doesn't mean you should not be searching for fish. Fresh fish are reported as far north as Tiverton, RI. With the temperatures breaking 80 degrees multiple times this week, expect an acceleration in the migration of the Striped Bass. My prediction would be fresh fish this weekend to mid next week. This will be the first fishing report of the year and check back every Friday morning for a weekly update. Also, check out our Instagram and Facebook for daily shop updates! Good luck this season everyone

With the masses of fish in Cape Cod Bay, we are definitely starting to see fish chasing bait into the east end of the Canal in the early morning. Fish tend to be chasing smaller bait and mackerel. Most anglers are doing best on soft body jigs and 228 Ghost Sebile Magic Swimmers. Smaller baits like a 2oz Joe Baggs Resin jigs are also working well. In the west end there are plenty of big bluefish and smaller slot sized fish. Although the canal is not the typical "blowing up" when you are shaking 30lb bass off your hooks every cast, it is definitely worth fishing if you want a chance at some Stripers. Tight lines everyone!

With water temperatures rising in Buzzards Bay, striper fishing has begun to slow down. There are still bass holding on pogies schools during sunrise and sunset, however the daytime bite has slowed down significantly. This has also caused large bluefish to ravage Buzzards Bay, feeding on water they can find. In Cape Cod Bay, the striper fishing has yet to slow down. Large pogy schools off of Plymouth are still holding Stripers close as anglers catch fish up to 50lbs. Fluke fishing has also began to pick up quickly on the Mashpee Flats and south of Nantucket, where they are growing up to 12lbs. With the water only getting warmer in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay, the arrival of the False Albacore is something we should be prepared to see in the next 2-3 weeks. Tight lines everyone!

Fishing from the surf has begun to pick up over the weekend. In the early morning, over slot stripers are being caught at the Train Bridge, if you are willing to join the crowd. From the beaches, Stripers and bluefish are being caught all around the Cape. Brown Shark fishing has also been phenomenal on South Cape Beaches if you are willing to fish into the twilight hours of the night. Using dead eels and bluefish have been the most effective. I had the chance to get out late last week for Browns, below is another Red Top employee I was with who got a 5 and a half foot Brown caught around 12:30am on a bluefish hooked onto the Red Top premade shark rigs! Tight lines everyone!