This is Artificial Lure with your Cape Cod Canal fishing report for Friday, October 17, 2025.

We’re waking up to classic fall conditions—crisp air, water in the high 50s, and a brisk northwest wind raking the Surface. According to the local weather from Cape Cod Canal East Sandwich, expect early morning temps in the low 50s, a high near 60, and the possibility of clearing skies into the afternoon. Significant wave height offshore is about 7 feet, but the Canal itself will be fishable all day. Sunrise hit at 6:56 a.m., and sunset is coming up at 5:59 p.m. That shorter day means extended low-light windows for targeting feeding fish.

Let’s talk tides. We saw a pre-dawn high at 6:20 a.m. reaching 3.7 feet, with a low tide at 1:25 p.m., then the next high coming up at 6:38 p.m. at 3.6 feet, according to tideschart.com. That means strong moving water through the morning—ideal conditions for both sight casting and running plugs, especially along the west end and mid-canal stretches.

What’s biting? The October run is peaking, and it’s all about **striped bass** and some late push **false albacore** along the edges. On The Water reported yesterday that big bass—up to 50 pounds—made a serious move through during the roughest weather, with the western half of the Canal “going off” all week. Red Top Sporting Goods confirms persistent numbers of 20–40 pound bass moving westward with the current, hammering the bait balls that’ve stacked up since last week’s nor’easter.

The main forage continues to be peanut bunker and finger mullet, fueling a frenzied striper bite. Albies have thinned but a few pods are still blitzing small bait on the east end, timed well with fast-moving tides. Canal Bait & Tackle says tog action has picked up closer to the rocks, and if you’re up for bottom fishing, green crabs will do the trick.

Best lures? In the low, clear October light, nothing’s beating **soft plastic paddletails (like the Gravity Tackle GT Eel or Al Gag’s Whip-It Fish)** in “bone” or “olive/white,” swung deep through the current seams. Needlefish plugs and classic white bucktails tipped with pork are also accounting for bigger stripers. For those chasing the last albies, small epoxy jigs in green or pink have produced anywhere bait is tight to the surface. And don’t skip the old reliable—a live eel drifted in the shadow lines after dark is nailing keeper bass.

Couple of hot spots to try today: The **West End near the Railroad Bridge** lit up last night and should keep firing as dawn tides move water east. If it gets crowded, work the **Sagamore stretch just west of the Herring Run**—look for birds and bait pulsing through the outgoing tide. For bottom dwellers, rock piles around the Massachusetts Maritime Academy are holding tog and the occasional late keeper black sea bass.

Word from My Fishing Cape Cod is that this is one of the strongest October Canal runs in recent memory, with numbers of overslot bass outnumbering shorts for the first time all fall. Throw your plugs with confidence, don’t forget your windbreaker, and bring plenty of leader—you’ll need it!

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI