June might not produce the biggest bass or bluefish but year-in and year-out it’s the best month for saltwater fishing in the Falmouth area.  Even shore fishermen can expect to daytime catches, if not in the middle of the day at least during the early morning and late evening hours. So now’s the time to launch the boat or set up at your favorite beach.

 Striped Bass

Schools of big bass are holding on the Middle Ground rip, in the rocks and holes along the Elizabeth Islands, in the Woods Hole Passage.  They’re feeding on the fairly abundant schools of poagies, massive schools of small sand eels and the occasional swarm of squid.  Jigging continues to be the most effective boat technique, although the tube and worm and eels are starting to produce.  Although in-shore water temperatures are still comfortable for bass, fish are starting to concentrate off the vineyard’s Wasque, Gay Head and Squibnocket Points.  Several anglers reported acres of sand eels and “a hundred thousand birds (their words)” at Wasque on Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week.  Bass were on top the first day, followed by bluefish the second day.  Boaters working Buzzards Bay reported large schools of bass feeding on krill, which the bass focused on and ignored everything else.

Bluefish

Bluefish continue to roam the shallower waters off South Cape and Cotuit, providing a lot of action for both boat and shore anglers.  The best bites are at first light (between 4 and 4:30 a.m. right now) and just before dark.  But roaming schools are showing periodically during the day.  Fishing for blues should hold up for several more weeks before they make the early summer disappearance that most people attribute to the offshore spawning run.

Bottom Fishing

Fluke season opened last Tuesday but only a few anglers got out before the weekend.  For the few that did 4 to 6-lb fluke were taken at Lucas Shoal, Middle Ground and any number of deep holes off Robinson’s and Quick’s.  Black Sea bass fishing is slowing as the spring spawning run comes to close and the fish disperse from the wrecks and rock piles.  Scup fishing fis very good with some very large scup — approaching 20 inches — being taken on sea worms or small strips of squid.

Freshwater

Trout fishing is slow as most of the ponds have warmed and the trout have retreated to the deepest holes.  A possible sea-run brown trout was taken Monday morning by this writer on a small white Deceiver just inside the mouth of Scorton Creek.  Smallmouth bass fishing is very good in all the ponds that hold them.  Panfish can be caught just about any time of day on small lures or night crawlers.