Current Waters: Nantucket Fishing Report

As far as stripers go, the new moon and big tides have brought cooler water with lots and lots of bait. We’re seeing squid, mackerel, and sand eels. I’m really pleased to see what I have for sand eels. Hopefully, they’ll stick around. More bait = more stripers.

We’ve started getting more bluefish showing up in areas where we fish for stripers. They’re just getting ready for the August Blues Tournament.

Fluking is now going in the right direction.

The bluefin tuna fishery is a new day every day. They’re moving, so locations change. They’re mixing it up. But they’re out there, and so is the bait. The majority of the tuna have been very large too. It’s a good time to go.

Adding to the suite of species, there have been a few scattered bonito in the mix. No surprise there, it’s about that time.

Eric Savetsky was recently on a mission to put satellite tags on whale sharks with his boat Endurance. He’s doing this as part of an ongoing research project with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. While he was out there, he was working with two spotter pilots, legend Wayne Davis and Nantucketer Doug Lindley, who were spotting for whale sharks. During the surveys, Doug and Wayne spotted a pod of four sperm whales, two large adults and two calves. The sperm whales were 120 miles from the island towards Georges Bank. They were found along the continental shelf about 100 miles offshore, where it drops from 600 to 6,000 feet. The whales dive thousands of feet to hunt giant squid in the depths.

Doug told me it was only the third time in his 40 years of flying the spotter plane that he spotted sperm whales. Doug Lindley has been a spotter pilot for over 40 years and is also an accomplished boat captain. Wayne Davis owns a photography business, Ocean Aerials Photography, and he’s been flying since 1972. He’s been a spotter pilot for tuna, swordfish, sharks, and various research projects. All that comes with a lot of amazing stories to tell. For these legends to be excited about what they see, you know it’s special.

You’d think with Nantucket’s whaling history, and the fact that our sports teams are the “Whalers," that sightings like these wouldn’t be much news. However, sperm whales are typically found in deeper waters and are generally a rare sight. So having them close to the surface and visible from a plane is a treat.

Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales, and those in our area belong to the North Atlantic stock, which currently numbers around 5,900 individuals. The closest most of us get to one is the skeleton that hangs in the Whaling Museum on Broad Street.

Though the sperm whale’s range depends on multiple variables, such as locations of food sources, breeding conditions, age, and sex, there is a general seasonal north-south movement of the species. The sperm whale’s diet consists mainly of large squids, sharks, skates, and other fishes. So them being around means that the food is here – a healthy habitat.

I’ve said it before, but you never know what you’re going to see out on the water! Or up in the sky. Keep an eye out next time you hop on a small plane to the mainland. Thanks to Doug for sharing these amazing images.

There is now a new opportunity to show off your saltwater fishing prowess and earn some state accolades. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) just relaunched the Mass Saltwater Fishing Derby. With easier ways to measure, weigh, and enter, it’ll open up access to more anglers being able to enter the state contest.

They recently unveiled a brand-new trophy commissioned from the amazing Cape Cod artist, Steve Swain. The “Commissioner’s Cup,” will be on display at Bass Pro Shops in Foxboro Stadium. Each year, the derby winners will get their name on the trophy. There are adult and junior anglers awarded each year. The Derby has two divisions; a Catch & Release Division where you submit a length measurement, and a Weigh-in Division where you submit a weight. For all the details, see https://www.mass.gov/news/the-massachusetts-saltwater-derby-reimagined-the-commissioners-cup.

According to the press release, “Each Division has more than 30 eligible species, giving everyone a great chance to get their name up on the leaderboard in the Adult and Junior (age 15 and younger) categories. Whoever enters the most winning species across both Divisions will be honored as the overall Angler of the Year (both Junior and Adult) at the annual awards ceremony. During the ceremony, a Best Captain in the Business will be announced for the for-hire captain whose boat registers the most winning entries, and the tackle shop most voted for on derby entries will be named Top Shop.”

Let’s try and get Nantucket represented!

Until next tide…