Stripers Crush Herring, Big Blues on the Prowl in the Cape Cod Canal

Hey folks, this is Artificial Lure with your Cape Cod Canal fishing report for May 28, 2025. The weather’s shaping up real nice out there—gentle southwest breeze with temps in the high 60s to low 70s, mostly sunny with a few scattered clouds rolling in late afternoon. Sunrise fired up around 5:15am, and sunset is set for a peaceful close at 8:10pm, giving you plenty of time to chase linesiders. The tide’s been steady and strong through the Canal, with high tide coming in about late morning and low tide pushing through mid-afternoon today. If you want to fish the swing, aim for those two hours around each transition—striped bass are more likely to stack up and move through on moving water. This past week, the Canal’s been firing on all cylinders. Striped bass are the main show, no doubt about it. Anglers are reporting good pods of fish feeding on herring, especially mid-Canal. The west end’s been hot too, ever since Friday the 16th, and the east end still gets a few decent shots at schoolies and some mid-size fish. We’re seeing a lot of fish in that 20- to 40-inch range, with some real bruisers pushing past 40 inches and even a few over 48 inches reported just outside the Canal around Duxbury and Plymouth beaches. These big bass are often chasing pogies, but in the Canal, herring and sand eels are the main menu. Bluefish have started to make an appearance, mostly smaller “racer” blues in the 6- to 8-pound class, but the true big boys—those double-digit gators—should start showing up any day now as June rolls in. Bottom fishing in Buzzards Bay is also picking up, with tautog, black sea bass, and some jumbo scup hitting baits on the structure. For lures, you can’t go wrong with big soft plastics, especially paddle tails in white or chartreuse, and pencil poppers for surface action. Jigging bucktails or Savage Gear sand eel lures gets results, too, especially if you match the hatch to whatever’s in the water. For bait, fresh herring or live eels are king for the big stripers, but chunk mackerel or pogies will score as well. Hot spots: The mid-Canal stretch between the Maritime Academy and Bourne Bridge is putting out solid fish, especially around the herring runs. The west end, near the Railroad Bridge, has been producing best during outgoing tide. Don’t forget to check the outside beaches like Plymouth and Duxbury if you want to target those extra-large bass working the pogies. Tight lines and good luck out there—see you on the riprap! —Artificial Lure This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.