Current Waters: The Action Is On

Let’s start with the fishing fun and what’s been caught and seen.

The striped bass fishing is awesome right now – there is no better way to say it. Call your favorite charter guy and go (with me, of course, ha ha). Beach fishing has also been strong. The harbor, north shore, south shore, the west – the action is on.

Between my own charters and reports from others, we’ve seen sand eels, bunker, and squid as well as other small bait and forage fish. The more life there is, the better the fishing. The bluefish are here and will continue to get better. Just check out some local social media and you’ll see photos of this week’s catch. Our fishing season on Nantucket has really started.

As you may know, black sea bass season opened last Saturday and they have been abundant for those that went for them. Look for them around any structure. They are a great fish for the table!

In our last edition of Current Waters we mentioned the change in the fishing regulations for striped bass and said maybe it would start in July. Wrong. Starting TODAY (5/26) the new regulations go into effect. We’ll now have the smallest slot limit for striped bass that we’ve had in Massachusetts. Be aware and know the regulations before you go. Keepers are 28-31 inches, one bass per person. You can read more of the specifics in today’s Current or see the regs for yourself here.

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the Spring Sea Run Opener fishing tournament which ends next week (May 31). The first bluefish of the tournament was caught May 23 by Tammy King and since then, many anglers have been able to land one. The fishing is hot right now and it’s almost anyone’s tournament after a mid-week shake up in the leaderboard. As of this writing, team “Go Bucktails” was in the lead with a total of 99.5” which is seven inches more than the next best team, “Chainsaw Island.” You can check out the leaderboards here and pick a favorite to root for. The team names alone are worth clicking on the link. By the time you’ve read this, the leaders have probably already changed.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the return of the FIGAWI sailboat race. We are, after all, an column about activities on the water. I’m glad to see it’s back to Nantucket. Know that if you’d like to see the sailboats, the actual race is Saturday. Sailors come into Nantucket harbor anytime early to mid-afternoon. With unfavorable winds predicted, some suggest boats may be in around 3 p.m. Take a walk down to the Nantucket Boat Basin late afternoon and check out the boats. Of course, if the race lives up to the “FIGAWI” name, it’ll just be foggy and we won’t see anything anyway.

With Memorial Day upon us, many more boats will be coming in to slips and moorings. Some may be new to Nantucket harbor. Let’s just all slow it down and be careful. Keep in mind people are loading and unloading from their boats and docks. There are no wake zones for that (and other) reasons. Let’s just use some common sense. I mean, what’s the hurry?