June 15th is tomorrow…and for those of you who read the report closely, you know that if you want to catch a bass on Nantucket I historically say be on island June 15th and put your time in…and you will catch your bass.  Despite mother nature taking her toll in the past week and the late push of the mass of bass, I still firmly believe that you can catch your Nantucket fish tomorrow.  When I say late push, the island usually receives its first round of fish at the end of April and early May and then you will see a steady rise of fish through May with fish residing in the shallows and tight to the beaches for both warmth and food.  In early June we usually see big schools of offshore migratory bass work there way into the rips to feed on squid.  The big school of migratory bass have been slowed up by bait and weather so it seems.  The good news from this is that Bass season will likely stretch well into July giving us all a mid-summer treat.

Despite the last week of junk weather, fishermen who have put their time in have still been rewarded with dinner or at the very least a great experience.  Capt. Corey has taken advantage of the lee that Nantucket Harbor provides and has had good fishing when hiding from the wind. Remember as the wind picks up, fish hide deeper in the water column so weight has become a necessity as of late.  Fish a savage head or a ¼ ounce weight with a four inch pintail.  It’s very effective.  If you see fish sipping on the surface (meaning the wind mellows) switch back to no weight and move your soft bait slowly with a healthy twitch…

When the sun has been out, time has also be spent sight fishing around Eel Point, the east side of Tuckernuck and off of Coatue.  WIth fish still being fresh and active this sight fishing has been VERY rewarding.  New fish to a fishery tend to be eager and hungry and not shy from fishermen. Take advantage of this in the next week as the longer fish hang around the tougher they are to catch through sight fishing.  Flies have been very effective, crab patterns in particular, but small soft baits and mid size sebilles have been the top producer in the shallows.  Also make sure you have the appropriate rods for the type of fishing you are doing.  A light weight 7 foot BFT TFO or Shimano Teramar are perfect rods for pitching soft/low weight lures.

The East side of Nantucket is producing some fish (boat and beach), but has yet to turn on.  This is not surprising as the East usually turns on as the mass of fish before mentioned shows up.  The South Shore is still producing though and lots of fish have been reported from Miacomet Rip up through The Old Navy Base.  I know I just mentioned a lot of water, but the fish are feeding mostly on the beach on hermit crabs etc and are running the surf.  (They are doing the same along Coatue as well.)  They love a big target when they see it though, (eel,squid etc…) which is why we recommend you throwing big soft baits or large swimmers or poppers. Make sure though when fishing for bass to WALK THE BEACH.  Cast, take five steps and cast again…Never cast straight out, always cast at 45 degrees (unless you want bluefish) and work the break…In two hours time you should work a mile of beach, remembering ALWAYS to to work extra hard on a place that looks exciting to you or has a variation in its break or a point on the shore as it is these holes or pockets where the fish hang when not hunting…

And finally for those of you looking for more “up to the minute updates” of the the Nantucket fishery we have redesigned our website www.billfishertackle.com to make it more info friendly for you.  On the front page you will not only see the week’s fishing report staring you in the face, but you will also see our most recent tweets.  We have been tweeting daily updates (that also air on 97.7 ACKFM) so you can be aware of daily changes in the fishery.  Check our website regularly for daily updates when you are off island, but when you are on island come see us…We are a bit old fashion in that we would rather look you in the eye and shake your hand…

Rips are heating up…