All the local ponds that hold pan fish, and small and largemouth fresh water bass are peaking now. Best baits are live shiners or buzz baits along with some soft plastic baits rigged Carolina style. Shad fishing in the Indian Head River remains good after dark. Coastal Report:  Striper fishing has turned hot, hot, hot! Earlier in the week a large school of stripers up to 30 pounds moved through the Cape Cod Canal. Fishing was hot on the east end of the Canal all the way to Boston Harbor. Find the huge schools of mackerel and you’ve found stripers. Outside Plymouth and Duxbury Bay you can find lots of schools of mackerel. Best bet is trolling Sibiki rigs slowly in 50 to 70 feet of water. While jigging for the mackerel, don’t forget to also live line some mackerel for the stripers lurking in deeper water. Up inside Duxbury there are a few keepers being caught around Bug Light and Brown’s Bank, but the hot spot has been the Howlands Channel. Stripers are all the way up to the Powder Point Bridge.

Outside of Plymouth heading toward Green Harbor you can find schools of mackerel off High Pines and right up to the jetties of Green Harbor. Inside Green Harbor live lining mackerel as far up as the dam has been good with only a little boat traffic for now. Fishing off both jetties also has been okay. Bluefish Cove has also been a good place to find some hungry stripers. Mackerel can also be found at Farnham’s Rock, but no stripers seem to be under them, although some rock cod and a lone flounder or two have been caught.

In 50 to 70 feet of water off the mouth of the North River, mackerel fishing has been red hot. Sibiki rigs are the hot setup here for jigging up mackerel to be used for live bait. Once you’re bait well is full try heading for third or fourth Cliff. Live lining off the cliffs has been real good for stripers from 28 to 36 inches with a few larger fish being caught. Fishing inside the North River at the spit has also been really good with lots of smaller keepers in the 28 to 32 inch range. Stripers have been caught up as far as the Union Street Bridge but from Damon’s Point to the spit has been the best spot.

Striper fishing has also been very good at Egypt and Peggotty Beaches. This is also a good spot for the shore fisherman. Offshore ground fishing is off and on. With lower cod length limits fishing has been better. Wolf fish have been a surprise, with a few coming on cod jigs. Lots of nice pollock and haddock have pleased the anglers on Stellwagen Bank. Soon the bluefish will be here with lots of reports of them on the South side of the Cape. Bluefin tuna are due soon according to rumors of Bluefin off the B C Buoy. Make sure your tuna gear is ready, because with bad gear, these brutes can end your dream catch early.

Don’t forget to take a kid fishing.