I know its early August, but the fishing has remained pretty productive all summer. In my experience we typically see a good uptick in fish activity by this month's end. With the new moon coming up around August 22, we should begin what I call fall fishing as fish start schooling up/staging in anticipation of the fall migration.
Don't sit around waiting for the mid/late october "fall run" as you could miss out...its almost here now...:fishin:

Jeez feels like summer just got here, but I know what you mean.

BB is right. Fall patterns start much earlier than I used to think.

Yep - the October rush seems to be in September these days

I agree....end of August is time to hit it hard!!:uhuh::fishin:

the first leaves falling.....

not turning colors though... just falling leaves

it has started already signaling the approach of fall weather

i hope we have a long Indian summer this year.

Seems to be a few years since I had any good November, or even early December action. :)

BB is right. Fall patterns start much earlier than I used to think.

What Joe said...:agree:

Yup, I'm real ready...:uhuh:

the first leaves falling.....

not turning colors though... just falling leaves

it has started already signaling the approach of fall weather

i hope we have a long Indian summer this year.


I just came in and had locust leaves all over the hood of my car in the parking lot....

Last year the end of august was really good to me. Hopefully its a repeat performance.

If you look at some of my old posts about the Back you will see, and my log books bear this out, there is a move of fish on The Back the 3rd week in August

I know it irritates some people when I post the "It's Over" thread sometime around mid october, but the runs have been largely over by then in recent years for MASS/RI , save for a few stragglers. I think your best shot for fall fishing is really the last week of August through mid October, weather permitting. With the new moon around the 20th of October, I would bet that's the end of it....let's not get too far ahead of ourselves though, just be on your toes....:fishin:

as long as we are fishing it ain't winter.

I know it irritates some people when I post the "It's Over" thread sometime around mid october, but the runs have been largely over by then in recent years for MASS/RI , save for a few stragglers.

Oh but those "stragglers", few and far between though they are, can be very special fish.

I know one thing for sure. This is, where I'll be when the mullet are here.:)

Oh but those "stragglers", few and far between though they are, can be very special fish.

My guess is the big train will come through some time around the Sept. new moon and taper off just after Columbus Day. After that its straggler time, IMO. Two years ago was some of the best shore fishing I've ever had and it lasted until the 20th of October, so I'll be hunting hard until then.

Two nights ago it felt like fall for about 45 minutes, but alas they were mostly small fish.

I'm heading up to NH with the family for a few days and plan to really pound it hard upon my return. I love fishing this time of year as there's rarely anyone out after 9pm, even in the obvious places.

as long as we are fishing it ain't winter.

Not for me, 'cause I ice fish.:grins:
The fun never stops unless you want it to!

Oh but those "stragglers", few and far between though they are, can be very special fish.

With no one around :drool:

Not for me, 'cause I ice fish.:grins:
The fun never stops unless you want it to!


THE PUP AND I LIKE HANGING WITH WITH THE BUDS ICE FISHING, BUT TO BE OUTSIDE WITH THE GRILL AND PALS IS WHY I AM THERE.

THE PUP AND I LIKE HANGING WITH WITH THE BUDS ICE FISHING, BUT TO BE OUTSIDE WITH THE GRILL AND PALS IS WHY I AM THERE.

Why are you yelling?

Why are you yelling?

I LIKE CAPITAL LETTERS

I LIKE CAPITAL LETTERS


:rotf2::rotf2::rotf2::rotf2::rotf2::rotf2:

Early September is the new late October

Two nights ago it felt like fall for about 45 minutes, but alas they were mostly small fish.

same thing last night except it lasted throughout the tide. mostly smalls with one 20lb fish and a 10 lb blue mixed in for good measure. had hits on almost every cast for a while until I ran out out of eels...

same thing last night except it lasted throughout the tide. mostly smalls with one 20lb fish and a 10 lb blue mixed in for good measure. had hits on almost every cast for a while until I ran out out of eels...

While I don't exactly subscribe to the notion promoted herein, two nights ago under the cover of clouds they ate well with a couple of nice fish, not slobs but no slouches either, and a bunch of middle school fish, last night too much moon and only two 1/2 hearted bumps in the same local.

Night fishing is sooooo lonely these days here in the land of sand.:uhuh:

Night fishing is sooooo lonely these days here in the land of sand.:uhuh:

Hey Steve - you can easily take care of that loneliness by posting a map ;)

I know you sand guys had a nice bite in June, but how has it been overall this summer compared to the past 2-3 years or so?

DZ

Hey Steve - you can easily take care of that loneliness by posting a map ;)

I know you sand guys had a nice bite in June, but how has it been overall this summer compared to the past 2-3 years or so?

DZ

Hey Dennis! It's been better, the last couple weeks have slowed a bit but the mung overall in some spots can be categorized (as Mikey 2na puts it) as "friendly" meaning light and close to shore. New moons better by far.

I was swimming with my wife in the surf last week after testing lures in Truro for hours without raising a fish only to have three mid twenty pounders swim right up to us. I think I am onto something with a connection to BANANABOAT sunscreen and fish attracting scents!

There's always Hi-Karate', Brute, and the ever popular Old Spice.

There's always Hi-Karate', Brute, and the ever popular Old Spice.

Hmm....I don't know how they'd work on fish, but those old school man-scents are definitely babe repellants, Tim -

No hot babe wants a guy whose after-shave reminds her of her creepy old uncle who used to fondle her...:shocked:

Although any one of those may get ya a GILF...:laughs:

felt like fall last night. cool with a NW wind. lot of fish around but mostly small....

No uptick in activity yet that I've seen. Had several nice fish around the 30# mark this past week, but no big numbers.
Oh yes, there were some skunkings and near skunkings as well. Another night we went left and a very large school of very large fish went right.:wall:
Pretty typical late August so far though.

I almost (literally) got skunked by Pepe LePew as I walked up from the water through the long grass on the side of the ditch the other night. Was less than 10 ft from a skunk with its stink gun cocked and loaded..

I think its(a big pickup) eminent...lets keep this thread going through the fall and see how it pans out. I read through a couple old fall threads last week and gleaned some interesting info from them. Had one 15# fish last night and a 33# two nights ago. Still no real signs of a pickup.

Mike:
My prediction is the day after labor Day at the )**(&% will be killer.

My golf game is better after Labor Day

There was a lot of small bait last 2 weeks in the bay. Blue fish were puking them up all over the deck, looked like peanuts or small herring, what ever it was there were a ton of them as I consistently marked very large schools of bait and if you could get down under the blues there were good bass. That could mean some decent shore fishing from Plymouth down to Barnstable this upcoming month,which never took place last year for me.

i have been hooking up with fish up to 35" down my way for a good two weeks now, nothing special but there are fish. couple weeks ago a guy landed a 38lber around high noon, soaking clams from the sand with his family on vaca, lucky bastadddd

There was a lot of small bait last 2 weeks in the bay. Blue fish were puking them up all over the deck, looked like peanuts or small herring, what ever it was there were a ton of them as I consistently marked very large schools of bait and if you could get down under the blues there were good bass. That could mean some decent shore fishing from Plymouth down to Barnstable this upcoming month,which never took place last year for me.

Albies and Bones should be nearby....

Last two nights I've had 18 fish, mostly 12#-20# sized with a few schoolies mixed in too.Got a high 20# class( it was 43"-44") fish last night and released it. Things are warming up.

Last two nights I've had 18 fish, mostly 12#-20# sized with a few schoolies mixed in too.Got a high 20# class( it was 43"-44") fish last night and released it. Things are warming up.

Mike, you gotta fish with that guy Makai. He says he's bailing 20 to 50 pound fish all night!:uhuh:

Mike, you gotta fish with that guy Makai. He says he's bailing 20 to 50 pound fish all night!:uhuh:

We actually go way back to the mid/late 80's...he's one of the good guys and a sniper to boot. You might actually know him from the cape. I think the night he's talking about was from quite a few years ago though. Makes a mean fluke francaise too.

Mike, you gotta fish with that guy Makai. He says he's bailing 20 to 50 pound fish all night!:uhuh:

As I said before, the point I was making was about fishing a full moon.
And it was a while back, pre seals at the race. Water thick like soup with sand eels, BIG school of BIG fish in on them from 10pm till 4 am.
I have had some wild nites fishing since the 70's. But this nite was a freak. 4 guys, most of the fish were in the 20 to 35 pound class with some 40ish fish thrown in and one 52.
I don't make stuff up, like to keep to myself. Some of the guys on this site know me and can back me up .
I don't know why you ask it would have been an avg good day eeling the back in the boats for us, as I'm sure you know.

As I said before, the point I was making was about fishing a full moon.
And it was a while back, pre seals at the race. Water thick like soup with sand eels, BIG school of BIG fish in on them from 10pm till 4 am.
I have had some wild nites fishing since the 70's. But this nite was a freak. 4 guys, most of the fish were in the 20 to 35 pound class with some 40ish fish thrown in and one 52.
I don't make stuff up, like to keep to myself. Some of the guys on this site know me and can back me up .
I don't know why you ask it would have been an avg good day eeling the back in the boats for us, as I'm sure you know.


OH I believe you. I'm one of the "old guys" from the 70s on the Cape.

One of the Lanny Grazini crew. I remember nights these kids would not believe and will, in all probability, never see. 40s all night with some fish so big we never stopped them on Crack 300s and Squidders with the drag tightened all the way down.:drool: I was serious. Mike and I should get together and fish with you. BTW, I think I do know you.

Larger fish in larger quantities showing up the last three nights, need I say more?

Get out there now guys, its the tip of the iceberg...

OH I believe you. I'm one of the "old guys" from the 70s on the Cape.

One of the Lanny Grazini crew. I remember nights these kids would not believe and will, in all probability, never see. 40s all night with some fish so big we never stopped them on Crack 300s and Squidders with the drag tightened all the way down.:drool: I was serious. Mike and I should get together and fish with you. BTW, I think I do know you.

You wouldn't believe how much I miss fishing like that. Now my OCD is on BFT.
I use to bribe Nat and Chuckie with food, when I first started going down there. When we were not fishing we would be laughing our asses off.

Had four good nights of fishing over the long weekend with a bunch of upper 20# class fish and topped it off with a fish just over 30# on Sunday night. Sensing things were turning for the better I headed south to one of my better big fish spots last night and fed the toothy critters for two hours.:wall: Tonight's a new night though...

Had four good nights of fishing over the long weekend with a bunch of upper 20# class fish and topped it off with a fish just over 30# on Sunday night. Sensing things were turning for the better I headed south to one of my better big fish spots last night and fed the toothy critters for two hours.:wall: Tonight's a new night though...

Looks like the further south you go the more teeth you'll find. Making up bigtime for a blueless summer. I can't get anything past them right now. One more night before I'm Austria bound.
DZ

You wouldn't believe how much I miss fishing like that. Now my OCD is on BFT.
I use to bribe Nat and Chuckie with food, when I first started going down there. When we were not fishing we would be laughing our asses off.

I miss Chuckie and Lanny and #^&#^&#^&#^&y C. #^&#^&#^&#^&y is still around and fishes SoCo a lot.

Thought I had it dialed in last night. Was where I wanted to be when I wanted to be there... just a slow night. Biggest fish 15 lbs, a couple of schoolies mixed in and a cigar butt for good measure.:fury:

Nice night out there though, perfect temp.

Last night I had one lowly bluefish in an area that's been producing lately...night before was slam zany but alas, I missed out due to work obligations.
Kind of like the entire season has been so far...some good flurries but the fish don't seem to hang around too long and much work has been reqiured to get them. Three weeks ago I declared it the "tip of the iceberg", but the iceberg seems to be floating by in small chunks...
We're starting to run out of time at this point, hopefully this week will produce like it normally does for me, otherwise its gonna be a long winter...

Mike, Canal was slow and the crowds in Bourne, due to the Scallop Fest, were huge. traffic everywhere.

I'm feeling good about the next two weeks. This east wind should help get some bait inshore.

Marked lots of small bait in the harbor this morning. Some fish on top, but not really organized. Third cast with a Ronz got a 38" fish at 0630. I'm thinking it was going to be a great day..... Only found three other fish, hours later. Was outside throwing into white water in the rocks. Got pretty sloppy out there. Hoping to see the surf fishing pick up, tonight... It's been feast or famine, but mostly famine.

But I have been focusing on getting my surf game ready for the MV Derby 10/4-10/11.... Looking forward to hooking up with some albies again, and maybe will hit it right for nighttime bass. The shore caught bass are getting larger by the week down there.

ross, there were fish there last night on the incoming, alittle before mid tide. you should have better conditions tonight - wish i could go tonight. hopefully the wind turned in time today because it was starting to get weedy with the NE last night.

Last night=:sleeps:

Last night=:sleeps:

me too. dink & blue, in a numbers fall spot too.... nice conditions...

Just back from the Canal. Sleepy time. Saw one fish break and a bass about 10# caught. That was it in 4 hours. From the RR bridge to the Bourne Bridge and all around the herring run.

Vas is das "Fall Run"...:huh:

Somebody give me a wake-up call when it gets here, wouldja...:yawn:

...:sleeps::sleeps::sleeps:

mike (BB) nice seeing ya out there ,sorry I didnt say hi,I was throwing eels and didnt get a bump all night and my partner was throwin bombers and needles and he was getting schoolies and a big blue...go figure

Was I the only one in the Ditch from MN to 2 AM dredging the bottom with my custom eelskin jigs-- absolutely nothing. The false motivation was a daybreak 26-3 AM before-- jigging (saw nothing breaking). I'm falling way bay behind the Back Beach formula of "doing okay" in the ratio of 1:3 trips.

Bonds

you needed your lucky charm NS .

seems like alot of people not catching much anywhere. spent 4 hours last night perched on a rock waiting for a bus that never came

Was I the only one in the Ditch from MN to 2 AM dredging the bottom with my custom eelskin jigs-- absolutely nothing. The false motivation was a daybreak 26-3 AM before-- jigging (saw nothing breaking). I'm falling way bay behind the Back Beach formula of "doing okay" in the ratio of 1:3 trips.

Bonds

My ratio lately is about 1:5..:laugha:

The only saving grace right now is two years ago things were just as they are now, then early oct. things lit up like I've never experienced before from shore....hoping for a repeat.

My ratio lately is about 1:5..:laugha:

The only saving grace right now is two years ago things were just as they are now, then early oct. things lit up like I've never experienced before from shore....hoping for a repeat.

That was pretty amazing BB I remember:fishin:

I have also been hinging my hopes on the 2 years ago philosophy.Same tides during the same weeks, but unfortunately my usual honeyhole has been a barren wasteland whereas two years ago it was slammer time.Time for shore fishermen to buy boats and get on the tuna bite because the bass bite has been terrible from shore for two years now.I know big fish have been caught because I have gotten some,however the numbers are nowhere near resembling those of years past. As BB likes to say"count your fish at the end of the year" but that time is near and I have a considerable amount time and effort invested with mediocre results at best.Go get 'em.

There are a lot of small cookie cutter fish (22"-26") in the Canal. They're picky and seem color sensitive, but they're there. You have to work for them.

We've got half moon tides and the current slows to a crawl the last 2 hours--you'll be dragging tail on the bottom with 2 oz jigs. I would say try eels at this stage of the tide. Or rig a 9" Sluggo or big Hogy on the back of one of PJ Joe's wobbleheads.

So I was dragging tail as Mike P says. 4:00 AM to 7:30 AM or so. Flip at 5:09 AM. Nothing to speak off literally. Just nothing and no one around me either.

I may have to follow JakeF's advice and start fishing RI again. I just know the Ditch will light up any day so I am reticent to give up on it. My luck will be just when I give up BB will start nailing 30s and 40s like thay are sunfish.

We've got half moon tides and the current slows to a crawl the last 2 hours--you'll be dragging tail on the bottom with 2 oz jigs. I would say try eels at this stage of the tide. Or rig a 9" Sluggo or big Hogy on the back of one of PJ Joe's wobbleheads.

Eels haven't worked, either. Hopefully with the pickup in tidal flow mid week something will happen.

On the flip side, I went fresh water fishing yesterday with my son and it was great. Lots of hungry bass and a few "buskies" for good measure. Also beats kicking the %$%$%$%$ out of myself during the wee hours.

Good for you Mike. I'm getting tired of 155 mile round trip too. It better happen soon or we will be fishing in the snow.

The only saving grace right now is two years ago things were just as they are now, then early oct. things lit up like I've never experienced before from shore....hoping for a repeat.

2 years ago august and early september were amazing for us up here. I'm guessing that you guys got those fish heading south. This year august and early september have sucked. Hopefully for you guys they've been up here, just not were i've been looking.

2 years ago august and early september were amazing for us up here. I'm guessing that you guys got those fish heading south. This year august and early september have sucked. Hopefully for you guys they've been up here, just not were i've been looking.

I used to call that the "Luds" indicator :laugha:, meaning when you guys mentioned a slowdown was taking place up your way, things seemed to just be picking up down here.