Fishing in Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket

For many anglers, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket represent the promised land of inshore fishing, boasting hotspots too numerous to list. The Vineyard is famous for its shore and surf fishing for striped bass, bluefish, bonito, and false albacore. The numerous saltwater ponds (for example, Tashmoo, Menemsha, Lagoon, Tisbury Great Pond) around the island provide shelter for numerous prey species and offer protected fishing for both shore and small-boat anglers. On outgoing tides, predators from bass to bonito line up at the inlets to intercept baitfish being flushed out of the ponds. On the island’s west shore, Tashmoo Pond hosts scads of schoolie stripers in June, and outgoing tides produce well, especially at night. Bluefish often lurk outside the jetties, too.

Moving south, anglers score with big stripers by working plugs, flies, and jigs around boulders in Lambert’s Cove and off Cedar Tree Neck and the Brick Yard. Menemsha Pond hosts a big run of herring in May, producing some of the season’s first action with really large bass. Farther down, between Menemsha and Gay Head, Lobsterville Beach and Dogfish Bar provide wade-fishing access for anglers after blues, bass, bonito, and albacore. The rocks in front of the famous Gay Head cliffs and Squibnocket make these spots prime territory for big stripers.

The island’s exposed, wave-pounded south shore produces huge fish each season for surf casters, who patrol the beach in four-wheel-drive vehicles looking for diving birds over breaking fish. Night fishing can be especially good here, with stripers and blues feeding close to the beach. Big brown sharks move in along the south shore during summer, and some adventurous anglers have even taken them from the shore. The big rip that forms off Wasque Point on the very southeast tip of the island serves as a magnet for everything from bass to bonito, making it a crowded spot in summer.

Along the east coast, Cape Pogue, Chappa- quiddick Point, Edgartown Light, Big Bridge, Little Bridge, East Chop, and West Chop are all productive shore spots. It’s worth noting that the Vineyard also offers some decent sight casting for stripers and blues on the sand flats, such as those off Cape Pogue, Edgartown (Middle Flats), Dogfish Bar, and inside Tashmoo Pond.

Bonito and false albacore fever grips the island from late July to mid-October. Some perennial hotspots for these fast and frequently finicky fish are Vineyard Haven, the entrance to Cape Pogue Bay (The Gut), Lobsterville Beach, Menemsha Pond, Tashmoo Pond, Hedge Fence Shoal, Edgartown Light, and Wasque Point. Expect Spanish mackerel and bluefish to join in the fray at times.

For boat anglers, the numerous shoals surrounding the Vineyard are particular attractions. Lucas Shoal and Middle Ground in Vineyard Sound produce outstanding catches of summer flounder (fluke), stripers, blues, and, in summer and early fall, bonito and albacore. Three nautical miles northeast of Vineyard Haven, Hedge Fence is another excellent spot for all the above species, as is L’Hommedieu Shoal, another 2 miles beyond Hedge Fence.

Bait and wire-line anglers on the trail of trophy bass often visit areas like Devil’s Bridge off Gay Head, Squibnocket Point, Wasque Shoal, and the Hooter Buoy at the end of Muskeget Channel. Big bluefish are caught in these spots, too.

Like Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket is surrounded by phenomenal fishing. Surf anglers cruise the sandy beaches from June through October, looking for blitzes and haunting hotspots such as Great Point, Sankaty Head, Smith Point, the harbor jetties, and Eel Point. The rip-filled waters off Nantucket hold big bluefish throughout the summer, when mainland hotspots fizzle. The waters off Tuckernuck Island and the nearby shoals (for example, Old Man, Great Point, Pochik, Rose, and Crown) give up numerous keeper bass and ******* blues, especially for anglers who jig deep with wire line. Flycasters and surface pluggers can score big blues here all season.

Nantucket is a fantastic spot to chase bonito and false albacore in late summer and early fall. Smith Point, Eel Point, and Nantucket Harbor are good spots to try, as well as the rips. And on calm, sunny days, anglers stalk striped bass and bluefish on the shallow sand flats of Madaket Harbor and Tuckernuck Bank, as if sight fishing for bonefish on tropical flats.

Bait-rich Nantucket Shoals to the east also holds big striped bass down deep, as well as cod and pollock. Deep wrecks in this area provide oases for some of the biggest cod and pollock still found in New England.

Southeast of the islands, offshore species like yellowfin tuna and white marlin may show up on traditional grounds like The Fingers, The Star, The Dump corners, and The Claw in July, August, and September, although there are no guarantees. The key is to look for the arrival of warm Gulf Stream water curling in from the canyons. Some trollers locate the action by trolling along the 20-fathom edge until they find a concentration of baitfish or a temperature break. Those willing to make the long run to the edge of the continental shelf can troll or chunk for blue and white marlin; bigeye, yellowfin, and albacore tuna; wahoo; and big mako sharks.