Stripers Slam the Cape Cod Canal on a Stellar Spring Day

Good morning, anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Sunday fishing report for May 18, 2025, around the Cape Cod Canal. Let me tell you, we're hitting the sweet spot of our spring run! Those stripers I mentioned moving through Buzzards Bay earlier this month have now established themselves nicely throughout the Canal and into Cape Cod Bay. Anglers have been landing quality fish in the 28 to 36-inch class consistently over the past week, with some larger specimens mixed in. Today's looking mighty fine for fishing with partly cloudy skies and temps around 65°F, perfect for a day on the water. Sunrise was at 5:17 AM and you've got until 8:05 PM before sunset, giving you plenty of daylight to work with. Tide's running strong today with a morning high around 9:15 AM and the afternoon low at 3:30 PM - that outgoing tide has been producing the best action lately. The tautog bite remains reliable for shore anglers on the south side and boaters in Buzzards Bay. Folks have been hitting easy limits in shallow rocky areas around 20 feet or less, though you might have to sort through some shorts. Green crabs on a jig head have been the ticket there. Squid are running strong now, especially for night anglers launching from Hyannis. That's bringing in more stripers every day, and with water temps now pushing past the magic 50-degree mark, metabolism rates are up and these fish are feeding aggressively. As for hot spots, the east end of the Canal has been particularly productive during the first two hours of the outgoing tide. Scusset Beach and the Sandwich boardwalk area have also been giving up nice catches. For lures, white and chartreuse paddletails on 1-ounce jigheads are crushing it, while SP Minnows in mackerel patterns work great during daylight hours. If you're bait fishing, fresh mackerel chunks or seaworms on a fish finder rig are your best bet. Don't ignore the back bays and estuaries either. There's a mix of resident holdovers and fresh migrating fish in these waters, with the bait situation looking mighty fine - we've got herring, squid, and now bunker in the area. Freshwater is still gangbusters if you want a change of pace. The state stocked some beautiful tigers, browns and brookies this spring, and with many anglers shifting to saltwater, the trout pressure has lightened up considerably. That's the scoop for today, folks. Remember to pinch those barbs and handle those breeding females with care. Tight lines until next time - Artificial Lure signing off!