December Fishing on Martha's Vineyard: Schoolies, Largemouth, and Winter Tactics

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Martha’s Vineyard fishing report. We’re in true shoulder season now. Most of the schools of big striped bass have pushed well south, and the funny fish are long gone, but there’s still life if you know where to look and you’re willing to grind. According to CapeTides and NOAA, Vineyard tides today run on a small winter swing: early **low around first light**, building to a modest **midday high**, then easing back late afternoon. That makes the **last two hours of the flood and first of the ebb** your best bet for any remaining moving-water action along the south shore bars and the holes around East Chop and West Chop. Local weather services have us under a typical December setup: **upper 30s to low 40s, a northwest breeze 10–15 knots, gusts higher, and clear, cold air.** Sunrise is right around **7 a.m.**, sunset just after **4:15 p.m.**, so your window is tight and the bite—such as it is—tends to bunch up around low-light periods. Recent chatter from Island shops and a couple of diehard surf rats says the saltwater catch has shifted almost entirely to **holdover schoolie bass** in the warmer pockets: small fish hanging in **Lagoon Pond, Vineyard Haven Harbor corners, and tucked spots off Sengekontacket**. Think a half-dozen fish on a decent tide if you’re patient, with most in the 16–22 inch range and the odd keeper-sized ghost showing after dark. Best producers now are **slow, subtle offerings**: - Lures: small **soft-plastic paddletails** on 1/4–3/8 oz jigheads, **3–5 inch flukes**, downsized **bucktail jigs** with pork rind or curly tails, and slim **swimming plugs** like SP Minnows crawled as slow as you can stand. - Bait: **sea worms**, **fresh or salted clam strips**, and **cut squid** fished on simple hi-lo rigs or a light fish-finder rig. Keep it just off bottom and don’t over-weight in the ponds. On the freshwater side, Island ponds are picking up the slack. Tisbury Great Pond and smaller kettle ponds inland have been giving up **decent largemouth bass and pickerel**, with a few **rainbow trout** reported where they were stocked earlier in the fall. Folks throwing small **inline spinners**, **3-inch shad bodies**, and **live shiners** under a slip float have been putting together steady action. Midday, when the sun warms the shallows a hair, has actually been the sweet spot. A couple of **hot spots** to consider: - **Lagoon Pond, Vineyard Haven side**: Work the deeper edges near the boat basin and the bridge on a flooding tide with small plastics for schoolie stripers. - **Sengekontacket, State Beach side**: Fish the channel edges on the turn of the tide after dark with bucktails and slow swimmers. If you’re switching to freshwater, try the **smaller up-Island ponds**; they’ve seen less pressure and the bass there are still willing if you slow-roll small jigs along the bottom. Dress like it’s colder than the thermometer says, keep your expectations realistic, and you can still scratc This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.