Fishing Report: August 2, 2010

August is Fun! The reason I say this is unlike June when we know we have Bass and July when we know we can look for Bass and expect Bonito, August is a month of wonder and hope. In August, the Bass are gone except for those adventurous enough to fish the night away or head off in boats to the Eastern rips, and the bonito have just shown up and are waiting to heat up.

The reason I say that August is fun is that it is the month when exotics are caught and seen. I ate a yellowfin tuna last night given to me by a great friend. He caught the fish down in the shipping lanes (50 miles south of the island.) He also caught Wahoo and Mahi Mahi. I know for the average Joe this is a long run, but these fish often follow warm water eddies in and if we are lucky we can sometimes catch these fish 20 miles from shore. In regards to exotics, those lucky enough to be on the bonito bar yesterday were blessed to have witnessed the beginning of shark week. Whit Mathews had a 6-7 foot Mako eat his hooked Bonito and he proceeded to jump the Mako 2-3 times before the shark broke off. To paint the picture, Carl Danielson was on the boat next to Whit and saw the Mako jump as high as the Antennas on Whit’s boat. Ten Feet high! Makos on the bonito bar? Welcome to August. Another fun sighting last week was had by Captain Nat Reeder who saw a 60 foot humpback whale off tail slapping off of Cisco Beach less than a mile from shore. Welcome to August!

The point of all this is as highlighted in the great article about Chuck Butler this week in N magazine, when you spend enough time on the water, it is amazing what you see. Get out there and explore!



Beach Report: The bluefish have moved down the beach from Fisherman’s and Surfside and are now hanging right off the beach off of Sconset and around the corner towards Tom Nevers. You will know where the fish are as there is a heavy bird population competing for their bait. Bluefish have also consistently been caught off of Quidnet as well. And this would not be an August fishing report if I didn’t plug Great Point. If I had the month off, you better believe I would be up at 4:30 every morning and on the point by 5:15…But that is just me. I would also make sure that I always had my full complement of tuna lures with me, as well as flouro-carbon leaders etc… as exotics often show right about now….(exotics being False Albies, Bonito and Spanish Mackeral.)



Boat Report: Great point is a given, just make sure the tide is running. August is great at the point because the fish are often all over the flat water and boaters do not need to be fishing right in the rip. The West Tide in particular has been fantastic on the rip. The west tide right now is that early morning tide, so worth waking up especially with the beautiful August weather we have. You have already heard my plug about the bonito bar… Cool spot with bluefish, bonito, and …sharks?. The Bonito are not lights out yet, but they are fun and great variety for the bluefish worn fishermen. Further, they are going to light up anytime now….

The South Shore has not been fantastic as those big bluefish have moved offshore. Fortunately, despite the longer ride, Old Man shoal is littered with fish cruising the waves. If you have never been to Old Man Rip this time of year you are missing out. Birds are working little squiddos and fish are cruising the waves bulging out of the water. Very cool. To get an idea of what it looks like pick up a brochure for Capt. Tom’s Charters and this sight is the main picture. My advice if you are going out there is to bring twice the number of lures that you expect to use.

Just remember, the best part about being on the water is not what you expect to see, but what you don’t expect to see… Keep your eyes open…

Tight lines,

Capt. Corey

Capt. Cam

Capt. Nat

Dr. Mike
Bill Fisher's Tackle Shop
127 Orange Street
Nantucket, MA 02554
508-228-2261
billfishers@gmail.com
http://www.billfishertackle.com