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Martha's Vineyard Fall Fishing Heats Up: Albies, Stripers, and Blues on the Bite
Published 7 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
This is Artificial Lure with your Martha’s Vineyard fishing report for Friday, September 5th, 2025. It’s an early September morning here on the Vineyard, and the fall action is revving up as both the fish and the anglers gear up for the legendary Derby starting next week.
First, a look at the tides—Oak Bluffs is seeing a low tide right around 6:30 this morning, followed by a high at 1:15pm, and sunset tonight is just after 7:25pm according to Tide-Forecast.com. That early incoming tide right after sunrise is prime for working the beaches and the jetties, when bait gets flushed from the estuaries and the bigger fish come in close.
Weather is shaping up mild, with southeast winds building through the day to 10-15 knots and seas around 3 to 4 feet offshore, as the National Weather Service calls for a chance of morning showers and moderate visibility. Perfect conditions for the shore or a cautious run outside inshore if you’ve got a seaworthy boat.
Now the meat and potatoes: the fishing. According to On The Water and Kismet Outfitters in Edgartown, albies have finally moved into Vineyard Sound after being just a tad late this year. They’re already blitzing on clouds of peanut bunker, silversides, and sand eels. A number of albies caught this week were coughing up squid, so pink or amber-colored jigs and flies with a bigger profile—think the classic Mushmouth in olive, chartreuse, or pink—have been deadly. Surfcasters and fly anglers are reporting daytime “pick” action, but the magic is happening early, right at first light and into that outgoing tide; boatless fishers working jetties and shallow beaches are getting solid shots at albies and schoolie stripers.
There’s also a solid bonito bite and bluefish all across the south side and into Buzzards Bay. Striper fishing has improved—especially with the bait pushed tight into shore and schools of 20- to 28-inch fish showing up. Some bigger bass are prowling the rips and boulder fields, especially in the low light at dawn.
Best bets for lures right now: epoxy jigs and Game On Exo jigs in pink, amber, or olive for the hardtails; topwater plugs and soft plastics imitating peanut bunker for bass and blues; and don’t forget live sand eels or a fresh snapper blue if you can get ‘em. Fly folks, it’s hard to beat a chartreuse-and-white Clouser, but the Mushmouth or Deceiver is a go-to as well. If you’re using spin or conventional setups, 7/8-ounce metals and the smallest swimming plugs match the hatch for what all these predators are smashing.
A couple of hot spots popping up this week: State Beach is drawing guys with small metals for early-morning albies, and Edgartown Lighthouse jetty is holding stripers and blues on the moving tides. Over on the west, Menemsha jetty is a classic for multi-species action and a run down to Katama Bay’s south side is seeing pins of bait and some nice bluefish on the drop-offs.
The Vineyard’s fall run is just getting into gear—don’t wait for the Derby to pack the sand; the next week is as good as it gets for our holy trinity of hardtails, stripers, and bluefish.
Thanks for tuning in to the report. Be sure to subscribe for more and keep those lines tight. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
First, a look at the tides—Oak Bluffs is seeing a low tide right around 6:30 this morning, followed by a high at 1:15pm, and sunset tonight is just after 7:25pm according to Tide-Forecast.com. That early incoming tide right after sunrise is prime for working the beaches and the jetties, when bait gets flushed from the estuaries and the bigger fish come in close.
Weather is shaping up mild, with southeast winds building through the day to 10-15 knots and seas around 3 to 4 feet offshore, as the National Weather Service calls for a chance of morning showers and moderate visibility. Perfect conditions for the shore or a cautious run outside inshore if you’ve got a seaworthy boat.
Now the meat and potatoes: the fishing. According to On The Water and Kismet Outfitters in Edgartown, albies have finally moved into Vineyard Sound after being just a tad late this year. They’re already blitzing on clouds of peanut bunker, silversides, and sand eels. A number of albies caught this week were coughing up squid, so pink or amber-colored jigs and flies with a bigger profile—think the classic Mushmouth in olive, chartreuse, or pink—have been deadly. Surfcasters and fly anglers are reporting daytime “pick” action, but the magic is happening early, right at first light and into that outgoing tide; boatless fishers working jetties and shallow beaches are getting solid shots at albies and schoolie stripers.
There’s also a solid bonito bite and bluefish all across the south side and into Buzzards Bay. Striper fishing has improved—especially with the bait pushed tight into shore and schools of 20- to 28-inch fish showing up. Some bigger bass are prowling the rips and boulder fields, especially in the low light at dawn.
Best bets for lures right now: epoxy jigs and Game On Exo jigs in pink, amber, or olive for the hardtails; topwater plugs and soft plastics imitating peanut bunker for bass and blues; and don’t forget live sand eels or a fresh snapper blue if you can get ‘em. Fly folks, it’s hard to beat a chartreuse-and-white Clouser, but the Mushmouth or Deceiver is a go-to as well. If you’re using spin or conventional setups, 7/8-ounce metals and the smallest swimming plugs match the hatch for what all these predators are smashing.
A couple of hot spots popping up this week: State Beach is drawing guys with small metals for early-morning albies, and Edgartown Lighthouse jetty is holding stripers and blues on the moving tides. Over on the west, Menemsha jetty is a classic for multi-species action and a run down to Katama Bay’s south side is seeing pins of bait and some nice bluefish on the drop-offs.
The Vineyard’s fall run is just getting into gear—don’t wait for the Derby to pack the sand; the next week is as good as it gets for our holy trinity of hardtails, stripers, and bluefish.
Thanks for tuning in to the report. Be sure to subscribe for more and keep those lines tight. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.