As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, anglers across the Cape and Islands are noting that bluefish haven't yet shown up in numbers. Okay, maybe bluefish aren't the region's glamour species (I'm talking to you, striped bass), but blues make delicious eating, especially on the grill, and at a time of year when bigger stripers are still hard to come by, bluefish are usually an early season go-to.
Why the late showing for blues? Kevin Blinkoff, of On The Watermagazine, thinks it may be the colder water following on our cold spring, and also a simple trick of the calendar: Memorial Day falls quite early this year. Kevin points out there are reports (rumors?) of bluefish starting to arrive from the Vineyard. And with the way bluefish typically come in, everything could change in just a tide or two.
One sign that the blues are likely to be in our waters soon is the abundance of squid. Boat fishing for squid continues to be quite strong, as it has the past couple weeks.
Also of note, black sea bass season opens this Saturday, May 23rd. Try jigging down along rocks or structure with a piece of cut squid - this is a great fish for the holiday grill. The size limit is 14", the bag limit is 8.
Striped bass fishing reports are picking up as well. Bigger fish in more spots, and in bigger numbers. We've got details in the audio posted above - give it a listen.