Current Waters: Early Bonito And Great Striper Fishing

It’s finally June, and our world-class fishery is heating up. The stripers have really shown up, migrating in as they chase all the small baitfish. It’s the mantra of the month – striper fishing is great. Depending on where you are, there are different kinds of bait that bring in the bigger fish. Primarily squid, then butterfish and bunker, as well as mackerel. I’ve seen a variety of sea birds – gulls, terns, shearwaters, gannets – as indicators of the size of the bait at that moment. Terns go for more micro baits and minnow-sized fish. Bigger birds, like gannets, will go for bigger fish. A variety of birds means a variety of bait sizes.

Stripers are 360° around the island, so go where you can. Bluefish are around now as well. It looks like a good weekend for getting out there!

The big news this week, aside from the stellar striped bass fishing, has been the number of rogue Atlantic bonito caught. No less than three were caught and reported this week around Nantucket (at least one off of Great Point). And more have been seen in the harbor, presumably in search of their next meal. One was even caught off of Chatham on Thursday.

Mid-summer is typically when we relish the arrival of bonito just as our other target species slow down, but seeing them now is new for me. Is it just a fluke, or is there another reason for them being here?

It seems early to us, as bonito don’t usually show up in numbers until at least July. But is it really that early for the bonito? I looked back at last year’s article for the first week of June, and we also had a “surprising” early bonito. Back then, the water temp in the harbor was warmer than average, so that’s what we thought might be going on. Now, the water temperatures aren’t up to July temps yet, so what are the bonito after? Information on the migration patterns of small tuna species like bonito is very limited, due to low tagging levels of these species. More research is needed there.

Atlantic bonitos (Sarda sarda) are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned predatory fish in the same family as mackerel and tuna. They are a beautiful fish - mainly silver with blue-green dorsal fins and black stripes along the body. Bonito is Spanish for beautiful, after all. They present the angler with the more challenging task of first finding the fish and then enticing them to bite.

Bonito are epipelagic, meaning they like the top water column, and are a schooling species that may enter estuaries. They are able to adapt to different temperatures, 55° to 80°F, and salinities 14 to 39 (sea water is about 36.8). Despite little research on their migration patterns, they are known for “feeding migrations” where they follow the baitfish. Adult bonito prey on small schooling fishes and squid, which are important prey. You’ll find them following bait schools and feeding aggressively. It's probably as simple as Nantucket being rich with bait this time of year, and the bonito have clued into it. Another possibility of their early arrival is an increasing population that is expanding its range.

Remember that this is the first year of new regulations for Bonito and False Albacore. We won’t have many Albies for a while yet (in theory), but the new regulations allow five fish total (of both species) with a minimum 16” size limit. For example, four bonito and one albie, or three and two, or all five bonito. They are separate species, and it makes no sense to lump them together, but it’s important to know the regulations.

We sure weren’t expecting bonito to show up during Nantucket’s spring fishing tournament. It’s the home stretch for the Nantucket Sea Run Opener tournament, which ends on Sunday, June 8th. The first bluefish was finally caught after last week’s article. The team competition is heating up, and there is still room for youth anglers to submit fish.

One of our favorite days of the year is coming up this weekend. We’ll be down at the docks for the annual “Touch a Boat Day” at the Nantucket Boat Basin on Saturday, June 7^th, from 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Touch-a-Boat is celebrated throughout the state as part of the Massachusetts Kids Boating and Fishing Week. This free event connects the community to some of the working waterfront Nantucketers who make their living on the water. People are invited to “Touch a boat, meet local fishermen and captains, and explore the waterfront on a leisurely weekend day.”

Come see us down at the docks!

Until next tide…