Terns, gulls, osprey... to find fish in the water, plenty of fishermen pay keen attention to the activity of birds in the air.

King mackerel have been showing up in Cape Cod waters in numbers for the past four years, joining Spanish mackerel as a seasonal visitor that anglers target. Atlantic mackerel are a perennial local favorite of striped bass. And this year, reports of chub mackerel are coming from just a little south of us.

It can be intimidating to walk into a tackle shop and see all the bait offerings. Eels, menhaden, squid, meal worms, night crawlers... Here's what you need to know to get out fishing around Cape Cod and the Islands.

You can get out on the water fishing even without a traditional boat. Fishing from a kayak brings you closer to the action and offers lots of other upsides, too.

Great whites get a lot of attention around Cape Cod. But local anglers know that a number of other sharks found in our waters may deliver a surprise at the end of a fishing line.

Pencil poppers, chuggers, torpedoes... topwater lures can bring some of the most exciting inshore fishing. There's no greater thrill than when a striper or bluefish smashes one of these on the surface.

Traditional hooks are called "J hooks," because they look like the letter. Circle hooks have points that curve back toward the shank. These can help prevent gut-hooking striped bass, which means a lower mortality rate when fish are released.

Black sea bass season is going strong, which is good news for anglers and anyone who knows one with an extra fish to spare. They're one of the tastiest fish to come out of our waters.

Bluefish may not get the respect from fishermen that striped bass do, but the fish are getting similar attention from regulators concerned about the health of the stock.

Going forward, only recreational fishing will be allowed. The change aims to reduce public nuisance problems along the canal and simplify enforcement of fishing limits. But some fishermen worry about the precedent it sets.