It’s been a weird start to the season. But I probably don’t have to tell you that if you’re reading this. I thought for sure, I mean I would have bet anything, that Race Point and Backside would have lit up when the bass disappeared from Billingsgate.

But there we were, Wednesday morning, running the point and down the beach along the potline, not marking a single fish. Not one. While we did salvage this trip with a cow and a few really great eats on topwater, the typical sure-thing spot that is Race Point in June is a ghost of itself this season.

But that’s okay. We’ll be out there grinding away, trying to find that next school of fish. We all just need a collective shift in perspective. Appreciate the bass when they’re there.

On a more light-hearted note, we may have a limited stock of special Fourth of July Seven Stripes swag in the next few days. We’ll be announcing it on Insta, so if you don’f follow us, you’ll never get a chance to cop this limited edition swag.

The Report

There are some big schools of fish North of Cape Cod feeding on herring. Other South of the Cape locations have also heated up in the past week or so–to the tune of 100+ keepers in one day by a buddy. There are definitely fish around, just not in the locations that we’d expect this time of year. If you’re mobile or want to burn some gas, you’ll find them.

We did find a few big bass on Wednesday over across the Bay, just not in the numbers that we normally see. We found most of the school in the shallows–around 25′ of water. The entire area was absolutely loaded with mackerel and sand eels. We also had a few bite offs and half mackerel come back, so the yellow-eyed devils are definitely around. Most of the bass we marked and caught were in the 24″-30″ category. Docs and Guppies produced the best bite, while Magic Swimmers and softbaits were ignored.

The Canal slowed down of course, but that’s expected with some of the weakest tides of the season. The new moon next week should get this thing going again. I expect the typical Canal craziness to resume then.

Billingsgate has fished okay since the big bite. Lots of smaller fish but still good action up on the shoal and south of it. East End, Scorton and Sandy Neck have remained very slow. My guess is that when we get another push of bass in the Canal–especially if they’re on mackerel–they’ll take up residence in these spots for the summer.

The Three Bays remains a great spot for fly rodders and light tackle anglers. Find some moving water and cast into it and you’ll find fish. The only problem is that most of the 28″-32″ we found last year are mostly non-existent this year. The 24″ bass are everywhere, though, eating squid, mackerel and silversides. If you haven’t picked up the fly rod yet, now is a great time. You cannot beat the feeling of a big hit on the fly. I promise you that.

Bonito! They’re here! And super early. Anglers have been targeting and finding bonito in the Sounds and around Chatham in the past week or so. Water is still cool, so not sure what’s causing them to move north so early, but we’re definitely not complaining. If you want a shot at some of the tastiest fish we get in the Northeast, troll an X-Rap around these spots. As we get into July, this fishing should pick up.

The Plan

I’m heading back to Race tomorrow. Here’s hoping we get a repeat performance (or a little better). Winds are calm and we have a nice incoming tide, so we should be able to find some topwater. We’ll be throwing plug and softbaits trying to tempt a few fish up. Mackerel are everywhere so of course we’ll load up the livewell to try and catch a few cows.

It should be a good weekend to catch bass on the fly in Plymouth. Early incoming tides and light wind will definitely get the bass feeding on top. Make sure to have squid patterns and small topwater offerings ready to go. The bass can sometimes get finicky when the water is glassy.

That’ll do it. Somebody catch some bass and send some pictures, will ya? Keep an eye on our Insta @sevenstripesfishing for the sweet new tanks. We’ll be announcing them in the next few days, just in time for the 4th. Message us if you want one.