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Monthly Opportunities

APRIL

By mid-April the schoolie bass have reached our shores and depending on the unpredictable weather we have at this time of year, the fishing can be great. The best spots for early season action are Quansoo and Wasque. At Quansoo, bass will congregate near the Tisbury Great Pond opening and at times you can be tight to a fish on every cast. Sinking lines and weighted flies work best since there is quite a surf and you'll need to get your presentation down below the surface.

As the month comes to a close, slightly larger fish have moved in and now that the size limit is 28 inches, the first keeper sized bass is usually caught. At this time, bass can be found all around the Island.

MAY

The month of May brings us warmer weather and big bluefish. Over the past few seasons they have arrived early in the month to feast on large concentrations of squid. These fish are fresh from the ocean and they are mean and lean. These voracious fish are characterized by their long, slender bodies and they are willing to eat anything that crosses their path.

The waters around Chappy are loaded with these hungry brutes. The Gut, East Beach, and Wasque Point are all excellent locations to encounter the torrid action. Make sure you have plenty of flies and plenty of leader material. Pliers are a must and de-barbing your hooks will help with quick releases.

Greater numbers of stripers move in everyday and larger specimens make their appearance. Around mid-month, the cinder worm hatch occurs once the water reaches 60 degrees in the tidal ponds and the moon phase creates greater tides. The hatch is actually a spawn. These worms dance along the surface fertilizing as they go before they are slurped down by opportunistic stripers. Fish large and small come to gorge themselves on the hapless worms. The event lasts for a week or so and if there are too many worms, drawing a strike can be frustrating at times. Moderate to small numbers of worms can produce a take on nearly every cast. Cinder worm patterns are a must and they are quite easy to tie. Hickory shad are an added bonus during this period and they'll do their best to imitate the mighty tarpon with an aerial display.

JUNE

June could possibly be the best month to fly fish the Vineyard. The weather is great and stripers and bluefish surround the Island. Lobsterville Beach to Dogfish Bar offers a world class fishery for fly rod stripers who come to feast on hordes of sand eels from dusk to dawn. A night time outgoing tide usually produces the most fish as sand eels are swept westward with the current. A chorus of pops and slurps fills the air up and down the beach as bass satiate their hunger.

A floating line works best, although an intermediate is alright as long as the tide isn't too low. A wide variey of flies will work and at times it can take a bit of experimenting to find out what works best. Each night can be different but most people have good luck with sand eel patterns and deceivers. At times, a larger fly like a squid pattern or a slider work better. Landing a 40 inch plus sized striper from shore is a real possibility when you fish this area in June.

Bluefish are also found here so it's a good idea to carry some wire leader material and pliers with you. In the dark, be careful to make sure the fish you land is a bass before you stick your thumb in it's mouth. Every year someone gets bit by a bluefish this way.

June is one of those months that no matter where you go, you can sample some great fishing if you are there at the right time.

JULY

July is the first month of the height of the tourist season. The Island is crowded with people so the best place to be is on the water. As the water temps warm, fly fishing from shore can be more challenging as fish seek cooler water on the shoals and in the rips around the Island. Bass and blues are still the targeted fish but the talk in all the tackle shops is regarding the arrival of the atlantic bonito. When will the first on be caught? Where will it be taken? Some years they appear around mid-month but other years it's closer to end of the month. When word hits that one has been landed, Bonito Fever spreads through the fishing community like wild fire. Everyone wants a bone on the end of a line especially the fly rodders.

AUGUST

August is prime time for atlantic bonito. Schools can be found hammering silversides and sand eels from Cape Poge to Menemsha. Early to mid-morning usually produces the best results but at times, afternoons can be quite productive. In recent years, the shore fishing for bonito has been tougher so boat fishing will give you the most opportunities. It can be extremely frustrating to stand on a beach or jetty and watch these fish rip through a school of bait and you can't reach them.

When bonito are feeding on the surface they attract quite a crowd. If you can fish during the week, you will reduce your competion greatly. On weekends, dozens of boats can be racing around and charging one school of fish. This behavior can cause tempers to flare and it is best to observe the pattern the fish are running and position your boat so they come to you. Many fish are hooked while blind casting so keep casting even when they aren't busting.

If you wan't to catch one these speedsters on fly, August offers you a great opportunity. As the month draws to a close, the first false albacore arrive to commence their fall blitz!

SEPTEMBER

September sees false albacore swarming all around the island and they will continue to terrorize baitfish for the entire month. Spectacular action can be had from shore and boat alike. If you are shorebound, the jetties at Menemsha or Lobsterville are a great place to camp out. At times the entire channel can be filled with feeding albies. That will get your adreneline pumping!! The Cape Poge Gut is another great spot for shore fly anglers. As with Menemsha, it will be crowded on weekends so if you can fish during the week you'll have more elbow room.

By mid-month it won't matter too much if you're fishing weekends or weekdays...you'll have company. The M.V. Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby starts at this time and it seems like the whole Island is obsessed with fishing. The month long contest is steeped in tradition and provides some great stories as anglers compete for the biggest striped bass, bluefish, bonito, and false albacore.

Fly rodding for bass also picks up this month as the water cools and fish from the north begin migrating south. In recent years it has been difficult for anglers to land large stripers on fly from shore during the Derby. There has been plenty of smaller fish but hooking into a hog can be challeging. Large bluefish can be caught as well but most of these fish are taken from boats. The most difficult fish to hook on fly during this month is the bonito. Once the large numbers of albies invade our waters, the bonito become scare but once October arrives we see a return of of these fish and generally they are larger in size.