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Winter Fishing on Martha's Vineyard: Tautog, Cod, and Haddock Bite
Published 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Vineyard fishing report.
We’re on a **waxing tide** cycle with modest winter water movement. CapeCodTides shows low just after sunrise and a late‑morning high, then another drop toward evening, so plan your trips around that morning flood and the late‑afternoon start of the next push. Over on the South Shore, Surfline’s Lucy Vincent chart shows a pre‑dawn high rolling into a mid‑morning ebb, so you’ll get that classic “one last bite” window as the current turns.
Weather from USHarbors for Aquinnah has us in a classic shoulder pattern: cold start, topping out in the low 40s, light northwest breeze, mostly clear with some passing clouds. Sunrise is right around 7:05, sunset about 4:15, so your productive light is tight; that first hour after sun‑up and the last 45 minutes before dark are prime.
It’s winter quiet, but not dead. Inshore, the **striper** run is basically wrapped, but a few schoolies are still hanging deep in Vineyard Haven and Lagoon Pond for the diehards slow‑rolling jigs. More realistically, the game now is **holdover tog and mixed bottom fish** on structure, plus the odd **cod and hake** on deeper pieces south of the Island.
Recent chatter at the Vineyard Haven docks and Oak Bluffs harbor has a steady pick of **blackfish (tautog)** in the 3–5 lb range on the rockpiles off East Chop and along the ledges between Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, with a couple fish pushing 7–8 lbs. A few boats running down‑Island toward Nomans and the deeper bumps south have been boxing small **cod**, **ling**, and some decent **haddock**, not fast and furious, but enough to make the ride worth it on the calmer days.
Best producers right now:
- **Bait:** Green crabs and Asian shore crabs for tog; clam strips and squid for the mixed bottom bag. Cut mackerel strips if you can scare some up on sabikis around the ferry lanes.
- **Lures:**
– 1–2 oz **blackfish jigs** in muted greens and browns, tipped with half a crab.
– 3–4 oz **bucktails** in white or chartreuse with a Gulp swimming mullet for the deeper humps.
– Small metal jigs (2–4 oz, sand‑eel profile) worked slow and low for cod and haddock.
Couple of **hot spots** if you’re getting out:
- **East Chop Ledges:** Inside edge on the Vineyard Haven side has been giving up solid tog on the last of the flood and first of the ebb. Anchor uptide, short leaders, don’t be shy about re‑baiting.
- **Squibnocket / off Lucy Vincent:** Rock fingers and scattered boulder fields in 30–60 feet are holding a mix of tog and winter scup. Fish the slower tide stages to keep bottom.
- If you’ve got the boat and the weather: the **southern wrecks and humps** toward Nomans are your best shot at a small cod box and some bigger hake right now.
Think small, slow, and tight to structure. Long leaders and heavy current sweeps won’t do you any favors; this is “drop it on their nose and wait for the tap” season.
That’s it from Artificial Lure here on the Vineyard. 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
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
We’re on a **waxing tide** cycle with modest winter water movement. CapeCodTides shows low just after sunrise and a late‑morning high, then another drop toward evening, so plan your trips around that morning flood and the late‑afternoon start of the next push. Over on the South Shore, Surfline’s Lucy Vincent chart shows a pre‑dawn high rolling into a mid‑morning ebb, so you’ll get that classic “one last bite” window as the current turns.
Weather from USHarbors for Aquinnah has us in a classic shoulder pattern: cold start, topping out in the low 40s, light northwest breeze, mostly clear with some passing clouds. Sunrise is right around 7:05, sunset about 4:15, so your productive light is tight; that first hour after sun‑up and the last 45 minutes before dark are prime.
It’s winter quiet, but not dead. Inshore, the **striper** run is basically wrapped, but a few schoolies are still hanging deep in Vineyard Haven and Lagoon Pond for the diehards slow‑rolling jigs. More realistically, the game now is **holdover tog and mixed bottom fish** on structure, plus the odd **cod and hake** on deeper pieces south of the Island.
Recent chatter at the Vineyard Haven docks and Oak Bluffs harbor has a steady pick of **blackfish (tautog)** in the 3–5 lb range on the rockpiles off East Chop and along the ledges between Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, with a couple fish pushing 7–8 lbs. A few boats running down‑Island toward Nomans and the deeper bumps south have been boxing small **cod**, **ling**, and some decent **haddock**, not fast and furious, but enough to make the ride worth it on the calmer days.
Best producers right now:
- **Bait:** Green crabs and Asian shore crabs for tog; clam strips and squid for the mixed bottom bag. Cut mackerel strips if you can scare some up on sabikis around the ferry lanes.
- **Lures:**
– 1–2 oz **blackfish jigs** in muted greens and browns, tipped with half a crab.
– 3–4 oz **bucktails** in white or chartreuse with a Gulp swimming mullet for the deeper humps.
– Small metal jigs (2–4 oz, sand‑eel profile) worked slow and low for cod and haddock.
Couple of **hot spots** if you’re getting out:
- **East Chop Ledges:** Inside edge on the Vineyard Haven side has been giving up solid tog on the last of the flood and first of the ebb. Anchor uptide, short leaders, don’t be shy about re‑baiting.
- **Squibnocket / off Lucy Vincent:** Rock fingers and scattered boulder fields in 30–60 feet are holding a mix of tog and winter scup. Fish the slower tide stages to keep bottom.
- If you’ve got the boat and the weather: the **southern wrecks and humps** toward Nomans are your best shot at a small cod box and some bigger hake right now.
Think small, slow, and tight to structure. Long leaders and heavy current sweeps won’t do you any favors; this is “drop it on their nose and wait for the tap” season.
That’s it from Artificial Lure here on the Vineyard. 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
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.