Martha's Vineyard Fishing Report: Stripers, Blues, and Offshore Monsters on the Bite

Artificial Lure here, bringing you the fishing report for Saturday, August 23, 2025, covering the waters in and around Martha’s Vineyard. Let’s get right to it. Today’s weather on Martha’s Vineyard is overcast and breezy, with cooler temps following the tail end of Hurricane Erin. Strong winds and occasional surf swells are still hanging around the Vineyard and Nantucket, stirring things up, but that usually pushes bait inshore and gets the predators moving. Sunrise hit at 5:59 a.m. and sunset will be at 7:29 p.m., so there’s plenty of daylight for a long haul on the water. Tidal action is always key here. Low tide landed at 5:58 a.m., with the next high tide rolling in at 12:31 p.m. There’s another low at 6:09 p.m.—so you’ll want to pay close attention to that midday flood and the outgoing in the evening, both prime feeding windows if you’re hunting inlets or working the flats around Vineyard Haven or Oak Bluffs according to CapeTides.com. Let’s talk fish. Action has been heating up as the south side cools from the storm. According to recent word from On The Water Magazine, striper and bluefish are back in force, with blitzes popping off on peanuts and silversides from Buzzards Bay through Vineyard Sound. Some anglers are reporting solid numbers of keeper bass and slot fish, with the outgoing tide around the jetties and creek mouths producing best. Bonito are making a good showing as well, especially on the west side from Menemsha to Squibnocket. The first Spanish mackerel of the season have even trickled in this past week. And if you’re thinking offshore, be ready: there’s been a push of large white marlin just south of the island, with yellowfin and mahi running out past the 100-fathom line. Ocean fluke fishing was great before that blow, but inshore the bite is still there for those willing to work the deeper drop-offs. In terms of lures and bait, here’s the local playbook: for stripers, it’s hard to beat a white bucktail tipped with pork rind or Gulp, especially near sunset. Needlefish and SP Minnows in bone or bunker color are getting smoked along the beaches at first light and dusk. Blues are smashing poppers and metal at Wasque and State Beach when the wind’s pushing bait in tight. Natural bait fans do well with fresh chunked mackerel or live eels around the rocks or drop-offs for big bass in the evening. Bonito and Spanish macks are responding to small epoxy jigs, Deadly Dicks, and anything flash-fast behind a light leader—bring a 20-pound fluoro to be safe. For hotspots today, try the following: - Menemsha: The harbor entrance on the dropping tide. Good for keeper stripers and passing bonito when the bait schools up. - State Beach: Especially near the “Jaws Bridge” area on a rising or falling tide—blues and bass stack up when the current runs. - Offshore: South of the Vineyard at the edge, white marlin and mahi numbers are way up. The clean blue water bite south of the island reported by On The Water is as good as it’s been all mo This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.