"Fall Fishing Frenzy at Martha's Vineyard"

Artificial Lure here with your Martha’s Vineyard fishing report for Friday, September 26, 2025. Fall is settling in but the water’s still alive, and this week’s catches prove it’s prime time to hit the Vineyard’s shorelines and local rips. First, let’s look at **conditions**. Today’s sunrise was at 6:34 a.m., and you can expect sunset at 6:37 p.m. The tides are prime for early morning and late afternoon runs: high at 5:08 a.m. and 5:16 p.m., and low at 12:06 p.m., per CapeTides.com. That lines up nicely if you’re planning a dawn patrol or squeezing in a late-day sesh. Weather’s stabilizing after recent wind, leaving us with gentle north to east-southeast breezes and calmer seas, making it easier to spot those telltale bait balls and breaking fish. Now, the **action**: The report from On The Water says we’re officially in the thick of the fall run. There’s a steady push of **big albies**—that’s false albacore—moving in around Vineyard Sound and the west side of the island. Schools of these speedsters are targeting tiny bay anchovies and peanut bunker. Bring your Hogy Epoxy Jigs in electric chicken or small surface metals; stripers and bonito are in the mix, too, and they’re keyed into the smaller forage. Blind-casting around bait balls is working even if fish aren’t visibly busting. **Bonito** are popping up just about everywhere, with good pods reported between Oak Bluffs Harbor and East Chop—prime waters for light-tackle fans. That’s according to Captain Kurt from Fishsticks Charters out of Vineyard Haven, who says that while bonito can be fussy with so much bait around, persistence pays off, especially during those fast-and-furious bites when you see breaking fish. **Stripers** are staging in the bays and salt ponds, gorging on peanut bunker and anchovies. Plenty of schoolies, with some mid-30-inch fish reported on the beaches and in backwaters. Best lures have been white Al Gags Whip-It Fish, topwater poppers, small spooks, and Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows. Nighttime surfcasters working bucktails and sand eel imitations have been rewarded as well. **Bluefish**, mostly cocktails to two-pounders, are lurking beneath the bait schools, with some larger fish reported on the Sound side. Metal jigs and 2-ounce pencil poppers are the ticket if you want a toothy brawl. For **tautog**, now’s the time to start prepping your rigs. Vineyards Sound, especially around The Elizabeths and Woods Hole, has seen keepers coming up on green crabs—Eastman’s in Falmouth says green crabs are selling quick and recommends bringing chum to fire up the tog on shallower rock piles while water’s still warm. As for **recent catches**, the Vineyard Gazette reported over 570 fish weighed in already at the annual derby in just the first week, with a run of heavy albies, solid bonito, and schoolie bass taking top spots. The benches at the weigh station are buzzing—plenty of camaraderie and some friendly competition. **Hot spots**: - The stretch from Oak Bluffs Harbor to East This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.