Fishing Report, July 15th.
Great Weather has been the talk of the summer with 70 degree water, August Jellyfish already showing up, and more sand eels in the water than I can remember seeing in recent years. However, this beautiful weather is now on hold for a few days as mother nature seems to want to break the humidity with heavy showers and thunderstorms, but we are only teased. The result on the water though is some big systems offshore that have built up the seas to 5-7 feet South and East of the island. I mention this as these seas have dirtied the water on the southern shore, they have made the Madaket opening very tough to navigate with big water and they have made the eastern rips dangerous to fish. Long and short, if you are fishing from a boat, the north side of the island is the place to be. My recommendation, however, is to leave the boat alone for a little while and take advantage of some of the great surf fishing this island has to offer.
Beach: Patience continues to be the name of the game. Despite warm temps we continue to hear consistent reports about Striped Bass from the Beach at night time. Fishermen that are successful are throwing bombers, Hopkins, and dead eels of all things. Specific locations are the points at Cisco, Fisherman’s and Sconset. Madaket Beach and Esthers have also been productive for Bass. It should be noted though that there are fish all along the south shore, it simply requires time, finding the water structure (breaks in bars, holes etc…) and willingness to fish when others won’t (night and evening.) As for Bluefish, the South Shore still has bluefish off of Madequcham and Tom Nevers, but fishermen are dealing with dirty water. Fish are also being caught off Sconset with some regularity. The fun story though recently has been the north Shore. Dionis has been littered with bluefish and some of the bigger kinds. ON Tuesday morning, Carl Danielson witnessed a Bunker run on Dionis Beach. Bluefish were pushing the 12 inch long baitfish right up on the beach and the shore beach front was a feeding frenzy. Carl is a great fishermen with great experience and called it one of the coolest sights he has ever seen. See what happens when you spend time near the water.
Boat: For the next few days I would recommend staying away from the South Shore. Good News is that Great Point has been fishing very well as there are enormous amounts of Sand Eels across the rip. The fish are not loaded up there, so fishermen might have to work, but there are definitely enough to make the trip worth-while. Great Point is still producing Bass for the lucky fishermen as well. I pulled a bass out of the middle of the rip on a pencil Popper on the east tide yesterday and on a pearl bomber in the flat water on the West Tide.
There have also been schooling fish off of the Bell Buoy in Madaket, Dionis Beach, and in the Chord of the Bay. The fish off of Madaket and Tuckernuck have been schooling tight and producing their telltale slicks. When you see these slicks if the fish seem to be down in the water column, do not forget to try throwing a metal.

Offshore:
Tuna, Whales, and Striped Bass continue to be congregated on Crab ledge, which is 5 miles off Chatham, not a far run. I was out fishing on Monday, got a nice Tuna, but even better whale show. If you have the experience and proper boat, this trip is worth its while as it will provide great memories, otherwise, go with a professional. There are also great Bass out there as well. Seeing an offshore show should be a must for anyone who loves Nantucket.

Tight Lines,

Capt. Corey Gammill
Capt. Cam Gammill
Capt. Nat Reeder
Dr. Mike Ruby


During the Summer, we are open from 9am-6pm, 7 days a week.

Bill Fisher Tackle
127 Orange Street
Nantucket, MA 02554
Phone
508-228-2261
billfishers@gmail.com