Hey folks, Artificial Lure here, checking in with your Martha’s Vineyard fishing report.
We woke up to a cold, clear winter morning on-Island, light northwest breeze and seasonable temps, the kind of crisp air that’ll sting your nose on the first walk down the dock. According to the National Weather Service, we’re staying mostly clear and dry through the day, with winds staying manageable for anyone hardy enough to poke around the north shore or Vineyard Sound.
Tide-wise, Tide-Forecast for Oak Bluffs has a **morning high** around 5:41 AM, **low** near 11:32 AM, then another **evening high** at 5:57 PM and **late low** around 11:03 PM. That gives you two solid moving-water windows: the tail end of that predawn flood into the first of the ebb, and then the late-afternoon push. Sunrise is right around 7:07 AM, sunset about 4:33 PM, so plan those trips to be on station before daylight and again for that last light bite.
Winter pattern is firmly in place now. The surface has cooled, but we’re still seeing life. According to recent shop chatter from the Coop’s Bait & Tackle crowd and local docks, the inshore **striper** scene is mostly schoolies with an occasional slot fish hanging in deeper, slower water—think the ferry channels, the bridges, and deeper holes along Vineyard Haven and off East Chop. Most of the consistent action has been a handful to a dozen fish per serious outing, not lights-out but enough to stay warm.
A few diehards working Vineyard Sound have also been into some **holdover cod and mixed bottom fish** when the wind lines up. Guys bouncing bait and jigs in 80–120 feet are picking a small mess of cod, a few ling, and plenty of dogs mixed in. Earlier in the week, offshore-capable boats sneaking out on the calm days reported enough cod to make it worthwhile, but it’s very much a “pick,” not a pileup.
Best offerings right now:
- For stripers:
• Small **soft plastics** on 3/8–1 oz jigheads in white, albino, or amber.
• Slim swimming plugs and metal like Deadly Dicks or Kastmasters for working the rips and channels.
• At the bridges, a bucktail with a pork or soft plastic trailer is still king.
- For bait:
• **Sand eels**, frozen **mackerel**, and **squid strips** are the staples.
• Chunks on a fish-finder rig in the deeper lanes will tempt both bass and any roaming winter bluefish, though blues have been scarce lately.
On the bottom side, for cod and mixed groundfish, a classic hi–lo rig with salted clam, squid, or cut mackerel will do the job, and 6–10 oz bank or diamond jigs in chrome or glow get down fast and stay vertical when the current picks up on that mid-tide run.
Couple of hot spots to circle:
- **East Chop to Vineyard Haven Harbor channel** – Work the edges of the ferry lane on the outgoing, especially that last hour of light. Schoolie stripers are sliding along the contour picking off bait.
- **Squibnocket and out toward Devil’s Bridge** – If the swell and wind allow, this stretch still has structure fish and the best shot at a winter cod poke. Pick your weather carefully; this is no place for a marginal day.
With sunrise so late and sunset so early, you can realistically fish both prime windows without killing yourself. Hit that morning ebb for bass, then if the wind settles, slide deeper in the afternoon for cod on the evening flood.
That’s the story from the Rock today. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.
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