Late-Fall Grind on the Cape Cod Canal: Tautog, Stripers & More

Artificial Lure here with your Cape Cod Canal fishing report for Tuesday, November 11, 2025. Today kicked off with a chilly, partly cloudy morning—air temps hovered around **52°F**, with light winds at about 9 mph and gusts topping out near 15 mph. Humidity’s up at 75%, and you can expect a comfortable but crisp day out there, especially as the water temp is still holding steady at **60°F**, offering that last taste of mildness before winter digs in. The sun rose at **7:06 am** and will set at **5:47 pm**, giving us just over 10 and a half hours of daylight—plenty for chasing what’s left of the fall bite. **Tides are the name of the game today.** For the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge, the morning featured a low tide at 4:00 am, with the next high rolling in at 11:36 am (3.87 ft), another low at 6:40 pm, and a late high at 11:54 pm. Fishing action coincided neatly with the major lunar bite windows: for best results, anglers were working the water hard from **1:26 to 3:26 am** and **1:44 to 3:44 pm**, but don’t ignore the minor windows around moonrise at 9:52 am and moonset at 6:37 pm. **As for the fish—stripers are still present, but it’s a classic late-fall grind.** According to Charlie’s Bait and Tackle, the bite has been 50/50, but some decent keeper and slot-sized fish have been pulled from the deeper west end and along the Ditch’s southern banks at first light and again near sunset. The “breaking tides” are drawing a few die-hards to chase that late push of migrating bass, though don’t expect blitz conditions; it takes persistence and timing. **Tautog fishing is the real headline right now.** The rockpiles, pilings, and Canal edges are producing solid action, especially for those jigging green or white crab-style jigs tipped with bits of Asian or green crab. Local YouTubers and canal veterans are reporting “quick limits” tight to shore by using lighter jigs and a steady chum line; both boaters and shore-bound anglers are hooking up around the railroad bridge rocks and the East End service road. Captain Bill from the Sandwich stretch said, “as long as you can find some slack or slower water, there’s blackfish waiting to chew.” **Best lures and baits:** For stripers, the top plugs today have been 7” white or bone soft plastics, Albie Snax, and classic SP Minnows fished with a slow, deep retrieve. Needlefish plugs or bucktail jigs tipped with a pink teaser also drew hits, mostly around the dawn and dusk bite. If you’re aiming for tog, stick with a 1-2 oz tog jig and fresh crab. Black sea bass are mostly gone, but a few surprise bycatch have been reported in deeper, slower sections on the canal’s west end. **Today’s top hot spots:** - The **Railroad Bridge riprap and pilings**: reliable for tog and late-run stripers at mid-tide. - **East End service road near the Scusset Jetty**: For early-morning stripers and tautog, plus lots of elbow room now that the crowds have thinned. No sign of the big fall bluefish schools today; most have moved This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.