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Vineyard Winter Fishing Report: Holdover Bass, Stubborn Tog, and Quiet Waterways
Published 4 months, 1 week ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Vineyard fishing report.
We’re in the deep off‑season now, but there’s still some salt left for the die‑hards. Around Martha’s Vineyard, water temps are cold and the inshore bite has mostly slid into winter mode: think holdover striped bass in the back ponds and a few stubborn tog on the rock piles if you can get a boat or a calm window.
Tides today on the Vineyard run a classic two‑high, two‑low cycle. CapeTides shows a nearby pattern of an early pre‑dawn high, a late‑morning low, then an afternoon high followed by a near‑midnight low, with about a three‑foot swing. Work the last two hours of the incoming and first of the outgoing for any remaining bass nosing into current seams and creek mouths.
Weather near Woods Hole and the Vineyard is classic gray December: chilly, breezy, with clouds and passing showers in the mix according to the marine forecast. That wind will make open south‑side beaches tough, so favor leeward shorelines and the protected ponds. Sunrise is right around 7:10 a.m., sunset about 4:20–4:25 p.m., so your productive light is tight; first light and dusk still give the best shot at activity.
Recent catch talk around the Island has been quiet. The fall run wrapped with schoolie stripers, a few slot fish, some blues, and the tail end of albies back in October, as covered by local pieces in the Vineyard Gazette and Martha’s Vineyard Times. Since then it’s down to a handful of locals picking schoolie holdovers in brackish stretches and a short, scratchy blackfish bite on the deeper structure when seas cooperate. Expect mostly bass under 24 inches and tog in the two‑to‑four‑pound range if you hit it right.
Best approach now is light and slow:
- For stripers: small soft plastics on 1/4–3/8 oz jigheads, slim profile in white, olive, or bubblegum; small swimming plugs and 3–4 inch paddle tails crawled just off bottom.
- For tog: green or Asian crabs on simple hi‑lo or single‑hook rigs, fished tight to rock, wreck, or jetty edges.
If you’re fishing bait from shore, bloodworms, sandworms, or small chunks of squid will pick at schoolies and the odd winter flounder in the quieter corners.
A couple of local winter “hot spots” to consider:
- **Lagoon Pond and the upper reaches toward the bridge** – classic spot for wintering schoolie stripers when the tide is moving and the wind lays down.
- **Sengekontacket Pond, especially near the bridges** – fish the moving water on the edges of the tide; even in winter, there’s a shot at a few bass if you stay patient and work small offerings.
Access can be limited and some shellfish areas are under water‑quality advisories, as noted by recent Martha’s Vineyard Times coverage, so keep an eye on local postings and be respectful of closures and private property.
That’s the word from the rock today. 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 in the deep off‑season now, but there’s still some salt left for the die‑hards. Around Martha’s Vineyard, water temps are cold and the inshore bite has mostly slid into winter mode: think holdover striped bass in the back ponds and a few stubborn tog on the rock piles if you can get a boat or a calm window.
Tides today on the Vineyard run a classic two‑high, two‑low cycle. CapeTides shows a nearby pattern of an early pre‑dawn high, a late‑morning low, then an afternoon high followed by a near‑midnight low, with about a three‑foot swing. Work the last two hours of the incoming and first of the outgoing for any remaining bass nosing into current seams and creek mouths.
Weather near Woods Hole and the Vineyard is classic gray December: chilly, breezy, with clouds and passing showers in the mix according to the marine forecast. That wind will make open south‑side beaches tough, so favor leeward shorelines and the protected ponds. Sunrise is right around 7:10 a.m., sunset about 4:20–4:25 p.m., so your productive light is tight; first light and dusk still give the best shot at activity.
Recent catch talk around the Island has been quiet. The fall run wrapped with schoolie stripers, a few slot fish, some blues, and the tail end of albies back in October, as covered by local pieces in the Vineyard Gazette and Martha’s Vineyard Times. Since then it’s down to a handful of locals picking schoolie holdovers in brackish stretches and a short, scratchy blackfish bite on the deeper structure when seas cooperate. Expect mostly bass under 24 inches and tog in the two‑to‑four‑pound range if you hit it right.
Best approach now is light and slow:
- For stripers: small soft plastics on 1/4–3/8 oz jigheads, slim profile in white, olive, or bubblegum; small swimming plugs and 3–4 inch paddle tails crawled just off bottom.
- For tog: green or Asian crabs on simple hi‑lo or single‑hook rigs, fished tight to rock, wreck, or jetty edges.
If you’re fishing bait from shore, bloodworms, sandworms, or small chunks of squid will pick at schoolies and the odd winter flounder in the quieter corners.
A couple of local winter “hot spots” to consider:
- **Lagoon Pond and the upper reaches toward the bridge** – classic spot for wintering schoolie stripers when the tide is moving and the wind lays down.
- **Sengekontacket Pond, especially near the bridges** – fish the moving water on the edges of the tide; even in winter, there’s a shot at a few bass if you stay patient and work small offerings.
Access can be limited and some shellfish areas are under water‑quality advisories, as noted by recent Martha’s Vineyard Times coverage, so keep an eye on local postings and be respectful of closures and private property.
That’s the word from the rock today. 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.