"Martha's Vineyard Fishing Report: Stripers, Blues, and Albies Abound"

Artificial Lure here checking in with your Martha’s Vineyard fishing report for Sunday, September 7th, 2025. We kicked off the morning under clear skies, a gentle southwesterly breeze nudging the temperatures to a comfortable 68°F. Sunrise lit things up at 6:13 AM and sunset is set for 7:09 PM, giving us a solid window of daylight to chase the fall run. The tide rolled low at 1:01 PM and we’re expecting our next high at 7:27 PM (according to the Martha’s Vineyard GPS Buoy tide chart), so timing the rips and flats will be key for getting into feeding fish. Early September means one thing: the classic Vineyard mix. Striped bass are moving closer to shore, bluefish are still thick in the rips, and the word on the Menemsha jetty is the bonito and false albacore have started crashing bait balls from the Gut to Tashmoo—echoing the run legendary among Derby regulars and noted recently by local crews reminiscing over banner weeks gone by. This week anglers have been lighting up the surf and boat bite. Reports from the Martha’s Vineyard Daily Fishing Report say boaters targeting Wasque Shoal and Hedge Fence found keeper stripers deep before sunrise, with topwater plugs like the Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil and classic rubber shads producing fast strikes. Surf guys working Squibnocket and Lobsterville picked off feisty schoolie bass on pearl-colored Albie Snax and soft-scented paddletails. Bonito and albies came in midweek on silverside runs—fast action, but you’ve got to match the hatch with Deadly Dicks in the smaller sizes or white epoxy jigs. Best time for these speedsters was two hours before the evening high, when the wind calmed and sunlight glinted off all that nervous bait. Blues are popping up in the rips near Middle Ground and at Edgartown Light, slashing bunker spoons and poppers (blue/white patterns are best). Tidal Fish Forum users backed up the hot action near Harthaven too, with several slots and a mix of football-sized albies boating in the rips. Lures and baits to pack: bring your metal jigs for the albies, bright topwaters and swimmer plugs for blues and bass, and don't forget the bucktail jigs—tipped with Gulp or pork rind—if you want versatility from the surf. For bait, fresh chunked mackerel and squid always bring in the predators, especially during the tides’ slack and change. If you're hunting a hot spot, you can’t go wrong with: - **Menemsha Inlet and Jetty**: early morning and just before sunset for bass, blues, and the occasional bonito ball. - **Edgartown Harbor in the evening**: drifting just inside the main channel on the outgoing for blues and keeper striped bass. - **Wasque Point**: hot for fly anglers and spin fishermen early in the morning or an hour into the outgoing tide—fish are feeding aggressively in moving water. The Derby is just around the corner and the anticipation is building—get out, scout your spots, and put in the time with friends, as that’s what a true Vineyard run is all about. Thanks for tuning in—don’t This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.