Vineyard Early Season: Schoolies to Slot Fish, Evening Tides, and Bridge Action

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Vineyard fishing report. We’re in a nice early‑season groove now. Overnight we had light southwest wind easing into 5–10 knots this morning, picking up to 10–15 by afternoon with a bit of chop on the south side. Air temps are sitting in the 60s early, pushing into the low 70s later with decent cloud cover and good visibility. Sunrise slid in around 5:07 a.m., sunset will be just after 8:20 p.m., giving you plenty of light to work both ends of the tide. Tides around Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds are running a modest range today. Mid‑morning brings a building incoming on the north shore, with the ebb lining up late afternoon into evening. That evening drop on the Vineyard Haven and Lagoon side has been the most productive window, especially when it overlaps with the last hour of daylight. Striped bass action has been steady, not insane, but worth the effort. Schoolies to slot fish have been working the rips and shorelines, with a few low‑30‑inch fish reported off East Chop and along the State Beach stretch between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown. The last couple of days, locals have been picking away at bass around the bridges—Jaws, Little Bridge, and Big Bridge—on the outgoing, mostly in the dark or first light. Bluefish are starting to show more consistently outside the ponds and along the south shore, with some tailor‑size fish mixed in off Wasque and down toward Norton Point. Fluke and sea bass are part of the picture now. Drifters inside Vineyard Sound have seen keeper sea bass over rock piles and scattered keepers on the edges, with shorts keeping people busy. A few nicer fluke have come off sandy drops near Middle Ground and Lucas Shoal when the drift isn’t ripping. For lures, keep it simple and local‑style. Soft plastics on half‑ounce to 1‑ounce jig heads—albiesnacks‑style baits, paddle tails in bone, olive, and amber—have been doing most of the damage on bass. Bucktail jigs tipped with a strip of squid or Gulp are still the go‑to for sea bass and fluke. At night, skinny metal lips, bottle plugs, and black or blurple darters played slow in the current are taking better bass off the rocks. If you’re fishing bait, fresh squid and live or freshly dead mackerel are tough to beat for stripers. Clam bellies and squid strips will keep you in business around the bridges and deeper holes. For sea bass and fluke, squid strips or spearing‑and‑squid combos on high‑low rigs will get bit. Couple of hot spots to circle: First, **East Chop to Vineyard Haven Harbor** on that evening dropping tide—work soft plastics or small swimmers along the current seams and boulder fields. Second, **the State Beach bridges** on a moving tide—light jigs, small soft plastics, or bait fished tight to the pilings can produce bass and the occasional blue. If you’ve got a boat, poking around **Middle Ground Shoal** with bucktails for sea bass and fluke is worth your time when the drift cooperates. That’s the word from the Island for now. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn