Current Waters: Capt. Carl Bois' Nantucket Fishing Report

We’ve had a phenomenal week with striped bass. We had a day off due to northeast winds, but then on Thursday, one of the tides was showing more of the August behavior for bass as the water warms up. We have to start working a little harder for the bass as the water temps aren’t cooling as much as I’d like them to. Some of the fish are also feeding on micro-baits which always poses a challenge to get them to bite what we’re offering. The weather this weekend will stir the pot again and shuffle the deck. Next week could look completely different.

Fluke fishing – we’re getting them but it takes more effort than we’re used to.

Yeah! Albies are here. I had a report from Davey Desloge about catching an albie last Friday about a mile north of Sankaty Light in amongst the acres of topwater bluefish. He said he caught the fish right after reading last week’s fishing report where we said they’d be caught any day. I cannot confirm nor deny that these were the first albies caught.

The bonito made a really strong appearance. We too have been having fun with the bonito on some of our trips.

As far as bluefish go, they’re around. We have some large ones as well. It’ll be interesting to see what it takes to make it to the top of the leaderboard for the August Blues Tournament.

Speaking of the August Blues tournament. You can see the leaderboard thus far and what the numbers are to beat. The first bonito for beach and boat have already been claimed (great job, Noah Karberg) the first Albies are still up for grabs. Just be mindful of the weather when heading out this weekend. But don’t let a little storm scare you off.

We’ve been keeping an eye on Debby this week. Formerly a hurricane and now a tropical storm, Debby looks to be heading farther west than originally thought. For Nantucket, this storm won’t be a major deal, but we still need to be prepared. We’re not going to have the tropical storm winds, but heavy rainfall and high surf will be the primary concerns between Friday and Saturday.

It’s a storm - not a big one - but as a boat owner, any storm needs to be treated as an important one. It’s a good time to make sure you’ve got your stuff in order. Sometimes it’s the small storms that get people because they think they’ll be fine. Heavy rainfall can be an endgame for a boat even without any wind.

Remember, the storm could change course. There is a history of storms not doing what we thought they were going to do. This is just a reminder of boat owner responsibility. And if it doesn’t end up being a big deal? Well, you’ll just be ahead of the game for the next storm. You know she’s just around the corner.

When preparing for a storm of any kind the first thing I do is evaluate the anticipated wind strength, direction, duration, and the amount of rain. For Debby, it looks more like the rain and storm surge, so think really high tides.

It’s still important to be prepared. Make sure your batteries are charged and your float switches work. If you have dock lines make sure there is no chafe or wear in them and they are properly tensioned. If you’re in the mooring field, make sure that your pennant line and your backup line are not tangled and that the mooring chain isn’t wrapped around the mooring ball.

Make sure there is no debris plugging drainage points or float switches. Boats have sunk because melted ice bags plugged holes and didn’t allow things to drain properly and the next thing you know the boat has too much weight. Once that starts, more water gets in and it’s a bad day for a boat owner.

Remember, during a storm, if something goes wrong, it’s generally too late to fix it.

Be safe, stay afloat

Current Waters is presented by Topspin Fishing.