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Springtime Stripers and Tog Bite on the Cape Cod Canal
This is Artificial Lure with your Cape Cod Canal fishing report for Friday, May 16, 2025.
Sunrise was at 5:20 AM and sunset’s coming at 7:55 PM, giving you a long window to get lines wet. Weather’s classic Cape spring: cool mornings, warming up with a light southwest breeze later in the day, and a mix of cloud and sun. No real rain in the forecast, which should keep the fishing steady.
Tide today is key. The Canal’s best fishing continues to land around the first couple of hours after the turn—particularly the early morning east tide and the evening west. These swings have been lining up for prime time at dawn and dusk, and the fish are definitely staging with the moving water.
Reports in the past week show a modest but steady uptick in striper action in and around the Canal. Most of the bass are schoolies and holdovers, with some pushing keeper size but not quite the big class of migrators yet. Still, folks working plugs and soft plastics from shore, especially at the east end and around the herring runs, are reporting action, especially during the outgoing tide. The herring are in thick at nearby runs, which always helps draw in ambitious bass looking for a meal. Anglers at the Maritime Academy docks and the nearby rocks are also still pulling some good tautog, especially with green crabs on a simple tog jig.
The squid bite is rolling at night mostly off Hyannis, but keep an eye on Squid City and along the south side if you’re looking for some fresh bait or table fare. In Buzzards Bay, easy limits of tautog continue for boaters on rocky structure in under 20 feet of water.
For lures, it is still a soft plastic and bucktail jig game early in the season. White or bubblegum paddletails, five to seven inches, imitate the squid and herring around. Swimbaits, small Daiwa SP Minnows, and even a classic redhead Rebel have fooled the more active fish at dawn. If you find a school and they are picky, give them a small sand eel imitation or switch it up to a jig with a teaser. Bait guys are doing best with fresh chunk mackerel or seaworms when they can get them.
Hot spots to check today include the East End near the railroad bridge, where both stripers and tautog have been landed, and the herring run at the Sagamore, especially on the start of the outgoing tide. If you want a shot at bigger tog, try the Canal’s western rock ledges closer to the Maritime Academy.
In short: Schoolie stripers are here with a shot at early keeper fish. Tog fishing is still going strong if you hit the rocks with green crabs. Best success comes with moving water, soft plastics, and working the tide changes. It’s waking up every day on the Canal—this weekend could be the breakout. Tight lines!
Sunrise was at 5:20 AM and sunset’s coming at 7:55 PM, giving you a long window to get lines wet. Weather’s classic Cape spring: cool mornings, warming up with a light southwest breeze later in the day, and a mix of cloud and sun. No real rain in the forecast, which should keep the fishing steady.
Tide today is key. The Canal’s best fishing continues to land around the first couple of hours after the turn—particularly the early morning east tide and the evening west. These swings have been lining up for prime time at dawn and dusk, and the fish are definitely staging with the moving water.
Reports in the past week show a modest but steady uptick in striper action in and around the Canal. Most of the bass are schoolies and holdovers, with some pushing keeper size but not quite the big class of migrators yet. Still, folks working plugs and soft plastics from shore, especially at the east end and around the herring runs, are reporting action, especially during the outgoing tide. The herring are in thick at nearby runs, which always helps draw in ambitious bass looking for a meal. Anglers at the Maritime Academy docks and the nearby rocks are also still pulling some good tautog, especially with green crabs on a simple tog jig.
The squid bite is rolling at night mostly off Hyannis, but keep an eye on Squid City and along the south side if you’re looking for some fresh bait or table fare. In Buzzards Bay, easy limits of tautog continue for boaters on rocky structure in under 20 feet of water.
For lures, it is still a soft plastic and bucktail jig game early in the season. White or bubblegum paddletails, five to seven inches, imitate the squid and herring around. Swimbaits, small Daiwa SP Minnows, and even a classic redhead Rebel have fooled the more active fish at dawn. If you find a school and they are picky, give them a small sand eel imitation or switch it up to a jig with a teaser. Bait guys are doing best with fresh chunk mackerel or seaworms when they can get them.
Hot spots to check today include the East End near the railroad bridge, where both stripers and tautog have been landed, and the herring run at the Sagamore, especially on the start of the outgoing tide. If you want a shot at bigger tog, try the Canal’s western rock ledges closer to the Maritime Academy.
In short: Schoolie stripers are here with a shot at early keeper fish. Tog fishing is still going strong if you hit the rocks with green crabs. Best success comes with moving water, soft plastics, and working the tide changes. It’s waking up every day on the Canal—this weekend could be the breakout. Tight lines!
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By Quiet. PleaseThis is Artificial Lure with your Cape Cod Canal fishing report for Friday, May 16, 2025.
Sunrise was at 5:20 AM and sunset’s coming at 7:55 PM, giving you a long window to get lines wet. Weather’s classic Cape spring: cool mornings, warming up with a light southwest breeze later in the day, and a mix of cloud and sun. No real rain in the forecast, which should keep the fishing steady.
Tide today is key. The Canal’s best fishing continues to land around the first couple of hours after the turn—particularly the early morning east tide and the evening west. These swings have been lining up for prime time at dawn and dusk, and the fish are definitely staging with the moving water.
Reports in the past week show a modest but steady uptick in striper action in and around the Canal. Most of the bass are schoolies and holdovers, with some pushing keeper size but not quite the big class of migrators yet. Still, folks working plugs and soft plastics from shore, especially at the east end and around the herring runs, are reporting action, especially during the outgoing tide. The herring are in thick at nearby runs, which always helps draw in ambitious bass looking for a meal. Anglers at the Maritime Academy docks and the nearby rocks are also still pulling some good tautog, especially with green crabs on a simple tog jig.
The squid bite is rolling at night mostly off Hyannis, but keep an eye on Squid City and along the south side if you’re looking for some fresh bait or table fare. In Buzzards Bay, easy limits of tautog continue for boaters on rocky structure in under 20 feet of water.
For lures, it is still a soft plastic and bucktail jig game early in the season. White or bubblegum paddletails, five to seven inches, imitate the squid and herring around. Swimbaits, small Daiwa SP Minnows, and even a classic redhead Rebel have fooled the more active fish at dawn. If you find a school and they are picky, give them a small sand eel imitation or switch it up to a jig with a teaser. Bait guys are doing best with fresh chunk mackerel or seaworms when they can get them.
Hot spots to check today include the East End near the railroad bridge, where both stripers and tautog have been landed, and the herring run at the Sagamore, especially on the start of the outgoing tide. If you want a shot at bigger tog, try the Canal’s western rock ledges closer to the Maritime Academy.
In short: Schoolie stripers are here with a shot at early keeper fish. Tog fishing is still going strong if you hit the rocks with green crabs. Best success comes with moving water, soft plastics, and working the tide changes. It’s waking up every day on the Canal—this weekend could be the breakout. Tight lines!
Sunrise was at 5:20 AM and sunset’s coming at 7:55 PM, giving you a long window to get lines wet. Weather’s classic Cape spring: cool mornings, warming up with a light southwest breeze later in the day, and a mix of cloud and sun. No real rain in the forecast, which should keep the fishing steady.
Tide today is key. The Canal’s best fishing continues to land around the first couple of hours after the turn—particularly the early morning east tide and the evening west. These swings have been lining up for prime time at dawn and dusk, and the fish are definitely staging with the moving water.
Reports in the past week show a modest but steady uptick in striper action in and around the Canal. Most of the bass are schoolies and holdovers, with some pushing keeper size but not quite the big class of migrators yet. Still, folks working plugs and soft plastics from shore, especially at the east end and around the herring runs, are reporting action, especially during the outgoing tide. The herring are in thick at nearby runs, which always helps draw in ambitious bass looking for a meal. Anglers at the Maritime Academy docks and the nearby rocks are also still pulling some good tautog, especially with green crabs on a simple tog jig.
The squid bite is rolling at night mostly off Hyannis, but keep an eye on Squid City and along the south side if you’re looking for some fresh bait or table fare. In Buzzards Bay, easy limits of tautog continue for boaters on rocky structure in under 20 feet of water.
For lures, it is still a soft plastic and bucktail jig game early in the season. White or bubblegum paddletails, five to seven inches, imitate the squid and herring around. Swimbaits, small Daiwa SP Minnows, and even a classic redhead Rebel have fooled the more active fish at dawn. If you find a school and they are picky, give them a small sand eel imitation or switch it up to a jig with a teaser. Bait guys are doing best with fresh chunk mackerel or seaworms when they can get them.
Hot spots to check today include the East End near the railroad bridge, where both stripers and tautog have been landed, and the herring run at the Sagamore, especially on the start of the outgoing tide. If you want a shot at bigger tog, try the Canal’s western rock ledges closer to the Maritime Academy.
In short: Schoolie stripers are here with a shot at early keeper fish. Tog fishing is still going strong if you hit the rocks with green crabs. Best success comes with moving water, soft plastics, and working the tide changes. It’s waking up every day on the Canal—this weekend could be the breakout. Tight lines!