Early Summer Stripers and Blues: Martha's Vineyard's Perfect June Bite

This is Artificial Lure with your Martha’s Vineyard fishing report. We’re sitting on a classic early-summer pattern around the Island: light southwest flow this morning, building to a 10–15 knot southwest breeze by afternoon, with air temps in the low 60s at first light pushing into the low 70s. Humidity is up but not oppressive, and seas are modest: generally 1–3 feet outside, with a bit more chop in the rips as that breeze stacks against the tide. Sunrise is right around 5:10 a.m., with sunset close to 8:20 p.m., so you’ve got a nice long window, but the best bite has been in the low light. Early dawn and the last hour before dark are money right now, especially on the south shore and around the rips. Tides today favor the morning crew. Around Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs you’re looking at an early morning high followed by a strong outgoing through mid-morning; over on Wasque and Middle Ground, that falling water has been the trigger. The fish have been setting up on the edges when the current really starts to move, then spreading out as it slacks. Striped bass remain the main story. Schoolies are everywhere, but there are legit slot and occasional over-slot fish in the mix. Shore guys have been picking bass off State Beach at first light, along South Beach, and up-Island around Squibnocket and Menemsha, especially on a moving tide after dark. Boat anglers working Middle Ground, Hedge Fence, and Wasque rips are finding good numbers when the tide stands up and the bait gets pinned. Bluefish are in better than they were a few weeks back. You’ll find them crashing sand eels and squid off the south shore and in the rips, with some choppers showing in the evening along Norton Point and off East Beach on Chappy. Not wall-to-wall blues, but enough to keep things interesting and to chew through a few leaders. There are also fluke scattered along the south side. Drifters working from off Katama toward Great Point in 30–60 feet have been putting some decent doormats in the box when they commit to a steady drift. Inside, scup and sea bass are still very much on the menu around structure: rock piles, wrecks, and the shoals around the north side. On the bait front, the buffet is classic Vineyard June: sand eels thick in spots, squid around the rips and off the south side, plus small baitfish tight to the beach at dawn. Match that and you’re in business. For lures, keep it simple: – Small to mid-size soft plastics in olive or bone on light jigheads for schoolie bass. – Needlefish plugs and slim metal for the surf when fish are on sand eels. – Pink or amber soft plastic squid imitations and bucktail jigs in the rips. – For blues, anything that shines: Kastmasters, metals, and inexpensive topwater pencils you don’t mind getting shredded. – For fluke, bucktail jigs tipped with squid strips or Gulp in chartreuse or white are doing the work. Best bait right now: – Fresh or frozen squid strips for bass, blues, and fluke. – Sandworms or sea worms for shore-bound anglers targeting bass and scup around the jetties and rock piles. – Cut mackerel or pogies if you can get them, especially after dark for larger bass. A couple of hot spots to circle: – Wasque and the surrounding rips on Chappaquiddick: solid bass with a shot at blues when the tide stands up. Work the edges, don’t plow through the middle, and keep an eye on that current. – Middle Ground and the shoals off Vineyard Haven: schoolie-heavy but great action, with some bigger fish mixed in at dawn and dusk, especially on the outgoing. From the sand, focus your effort pre-dawn and after dark on South Beach, Norton Point, and the rocks around Menemsha. Keep your presentations low and slow if the water’s clear and the moon is bright. That’s it from Artificial Lure here on the Vineyard. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a tide. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn