Nantucket Essentials

[Motor Fish]

Heading over for this long weekend to visit an old friend and fish our off. I am always guilty of carrying too much so I'm going to "try" and limit what I bring. I will definitely bring a small pile of tins, jigs and rubber. And of course, plugs. This is where I could use some help. It's gotten so bad lately that I've been carrying a dufflebag full of plugs. I have got to cut down here.

Bait / chunking really isn't my thing, but I wouldn't rule it out. We'll be targeting bass and were almost to the new moon phase. No boat either, strictly from shore.

So if you were going to be fishing the island what types of plugs would you pack in your bag? And what colors?

[MakoMike]

There is only one essential in Nantucket, Money $$$

[Motor Fish]

The only thing I have to pay for is my ride over.

Although, I am a little scared at what my wife might do while I'm out fishing

[capesams]

if it was going in my pocket it'll have to be a hopkins with a white tube tail and a few spoffet's....

[chris L]

I cant even afford to look at nantucket on a map .

[Homerun04]

What MakoMike said......

[Moses]

Diggin Jiggin (member here) just came back from a week long trip over there and fished every night with his Dad. He has a pretty good knowledge of the island and has fished it many many times. Hopefully he'll chime in with some advice.

From what I remember thru discussions with him, they used danny's and sluggos most of the time and were quite productive from the surf in multiple locations.

Have fun.

[mooncusser]

Nantucket is the land of the pearl Bomber long-A. It's what the locals throw, mostly because it works. Pencil poppers also work well as do 7 1/2" and/or 9" un weighted Sluggos in Albino or Bubblegum. At night, depending on the moonlight, you can throw Bombers in black or olive/clear and do well too. Stetzko's Mr.Wiggly in Blurple can also be very productive on the southside beaches and out at Smith's Point.

[Rockport24]

I used to go to Nantucket as a kid, don't know how cause my parents are teachers, maybe they were on the take or something...anyway, I never fished as a kid (horrible huh?) and I remember all the 4X4's around the island had PVC pipes nailed to their bumpers... I never really knew why, I though maybe they were into ramming into people or something... then when I starting fishing I realized that PVC pipes make great rod holders and those guys were all surfcasters...
If I remember correctly, it seemed like every local owned a 4X4 and the PVC on the bumper was issued with a beach permit....

[PaulS]

My largest fish to date was a 25 # on a unweighted Sluggo.

[beachwalker]

yep there's some decent fishing here. Sluggos, swimmers, hopkins, bait, etc.
All the colors work here. I have caught fish on EVERYTHING i own. Including 30+lb'ers on Hopkins. Bring big, heavy swimmers for the south shore. It is usually windy in your face. (which is good you see ) Tide flows west in an outgoing and East on the up. Target your holes this way....

If you are going from the beach I suggest taking a look at the South Shore if the wind is anywhere out of a southern direction. It can be VERY rough so pay attention at night AND while driving. You get down in the wash, stuck, on an incoming when it is windy and your life is on the line.
But there are great holes all over the south shore. Look at the tides. South shore is usually about 45-60 mintues ahead of the Harbor tide numbers.

Great Point is fun but requires a pass. they only sell day passes to rental vehicles. A sticker is $100. Bluefish all day. Mix of Stripes and Blues at dusk better late. Patience is the key at the point. The fish move in waves up and down the rip and it is a LONG one. Almost a mile.....

Drifting eels at Brant Point on an outgoing is about as lazy as it gets. Get them at Nantucket Tackle behind the Stop and Shop. THEY'RE $22 BUCKS A DOZEN !

Nantucket IS NOT EXPENSIVE IF YOU HAVE AN AFFORDABLE PLACE TO STAY. Yes, gas is $3 plus a gallon but the mainland isn't far behind. Otherwise the groceries are more but we the middle class cook at home all the time. Going out to so-so restaurants for overpriced burgers isn't something I prefer.

PM if you need any specifics and have a great time. This is an excellent time of the year to fish out here and Basslessmaster has never ever been spotted. The borders are patrolled....

[bassmaster]

yuppie

[beachwalker]

i wish I was young


then you'd want me...

[bassmaster]

not me i dont swing that way

[beachwalker]

all you friggin people over there are a bunch of cakeboys. you can't fool me...

and I am a oiffie anyway.

old island failure

[thefishingfreak]

nice big fresh bluefish chunks on a 6 foot wire leader hucked into the channel at **** ****and a serious sand spike.
some rather large sandbar sharks patroll the beaches at night. 70-80 pounds not uncommon

[CANAL RAT]

make sure you bring plenty of heavy test wire leaders nantucket has the biggest population of alligator bluefish in new england because it is close to the gulf stream.
i would bring some tin hopkin,Kastmaster,kroc some storm shads some poppers pencil,polaris,atom and some swimmers bomber,windcheater,danny,darter,atom40. maybe throw in some spro bucktails jigs for good measure. tie up a ton of leaders and keep them coiled in some ziplock bags. bring the basic colors lite colors for sunny days dark colors for overcast days and nights

you could fit these in a large surf bag like the one from the surfcaster.
bring some hip boots and rubba bib pants for protection from the surf if your not going to do any true wading.

its says in striper hot spots by frank daignault that brant point,eelpoint,smith point,surfside beach, and great point are some good spots. i have been to nantucket 5 times and have had good luck at all these spots listed

[JohnR]

Penn 6500SS on a Honey Lami, flipped upside down so you can backwind with the best of them


Roberts Rangers, Teevas, and a faux L.I. accent (inside joke)

[bassmaster]

[beachwalker]

Originally Posted by JohnR

Penn 6500SS on a Honey Lami, flipped upside down so you can backwind with the best of them


Roberts Rangers, Teevas, and a faux L.I. accent (inside joke)

ha

just back in. another boring night of 20 lb'ers

backwinding bah !

[Diggin Jiggin]

Black and Pearl and yellow bombers, in the large and the smaller A salt sizes, & a few hopkins with tubes and maybe a few storm shads. Thats all you really need.

I fish down there a few times each year and until I got into plug building thats all I'd have in my bag. My dad fishes needles a lot and he does well with those.

All kinds of Wood will work. I was 'testing' some dannies I made when I was down there last week and i did well with those.

Watch out for your rubber stuff, the blues are gonna chop it to bits...

Now go back and reread beachwalker's tips, there's some really good info in there.

[CowHunter]

Dont even bother going to great point, it is Googan City! There are much better places to fish than that as long as you know how to read the water. The only place I had Blues on that island was Great Point, yes there were bass there too but so were the crowds all throwing pearl bombers... I did the best on the south shore, smith point and eel point. They close the access via SUV to smith point so you have to take the hike in..Youll have it all to yourself since people are gonna be lazy and not take the walk. The fishing is really good there and same with all the small points on the way out and back, they all hold fish! Eel point is also good, youve go to walk out on the bars and fish the beginning of the incoming, just make sure you have a good sense of direction because you will probably get fogged in on the bars there, when the tide starts ripping in its like a river, pretty wild...And youre all out about a quarter mile of the beach, litterally. You will slam the fish as they flood in..guaranteed....My weapons of choice, eels of course, along with a silver and black 7" Mega Bait. It is absolutely deadly out there. bring at least a few of them because they will be destroyed in a few nights. Best of Luck out there, PM Me if you need more info...

Ken

[NIB]

Wit that said i had the best fishin of my life at great point.Fish 15 -35 lbs every cast all week long.If I had only a few days to fish one of them would definitly be there.middle of the night the googans leave we would sit in the truck an wait for em to go by 11pm u have it mostly to urself just put a pearl,or chicken scratch bomber in that rip an hold on.Fishing can be very good off to the side of the rip also so don't limit urself to the rip alone.Mag darters work good at keepin the plug in the water when there's a 40 mph crosswind...I would love to throw some needle fish there this time of yr.there's a small inlet on the backside of madaket we murdered them on eels there.hard to get there.but worth the exploration if u have time.U can fish some spots on the way out to smiths that will produce also.I like danny types on the south side.

[Mike P]

I've never fished Nantucket, but to me, Great Point sounds a lot lot Wasque in the old days, when the rip wasn't the way it is now, and was on the southwest side of the Leyland property. Full of googans chasing blues by day, but empty at night. Try it on a late night tide, drag a bucktail or jig/plastic thru the bottom of it and see what shakes out I've released more 30+ fish from Wasque back then than I've caught at most other places.

It's worth at least one try, methinks.

[Squibby17]

The blues should be available on the south shore and the point during the day. Make sure to use a leader.

Also don't be afraid to fish inside the pond at night. Its never crowded and can be alot of fun. Watch out for the bird nesting area's

Tight lines

[beachwalker]

I vote we put an end to this thread right here and now.


for two years I have been visiting this site and nobody said a peep about this place and now look what happens

all these spots burning before my very eyes


i'll get over it....

have a great time Motor

[Motor Fish]

And I never even asked for spots... Sorry BW

I'm all geared up. Heading over tomorrow morning. Based on all the responses here, I've decided to bring everything. But I know what to throw first. Oh well, who was I kidding....

Should be a great weekend. Wind looks nice too.

[Topwater]

I will also be heading over for the long weekend.
This post was awesome. I really didn't want to bring two surf bags over along with the other stuff we are bringing. I think I may be able to cut it down to one bag and two rods.
We will be take at least one beach ride while we are there.

I can't wait.
Not looking forward to the traffic at the bridge while I try to get a 7:00 PM ferry.

[Diggin Jiggin]

One other thing you want to bring is a spare reel. I always pack a spare 704z just in case something unforseen happens. There's no one down there that's gonna fix your reel over the weekend..