Fishing with Live Bait in the Cape

Helpful Tips and Exciting Tricks for Both Experts and Beginners from Cape Cod Charter Guys Master Captain Ross Walkinshaw 

Live bait is always the best choice for fishing. You’re guaranteed a catch every time you fish with live bait because a wide variety of fish are just so much more attracted to live prey. 

For this very reason, we highly recommend the use of live bait for beginners who are eager to catch just about anything. Spincasting with live bait can especially be effective here in Cape Cod. Using tackle like a 5- to 10-foot rod with live eel, Spanish mackerel, pogies, and scup can be quite fulfilling for anglers who are not choosy about their catch.

However, fishing with live bait can also be quite tricky. For one, they’re so much more high-maintenance compared to artificial lures and chunk baits as they have to be kept alive. That’s why booking a charter like ours, Cape Cod Charter Guys, are best if it’s your first time fishing on the Cape. 

First-timers are not the only ones who can benefit from fishing with live bait. Anglers who are eager to catch trophies like bluefin tuna, bluefish, and striped bass in the Cape will enjoy fishing with live bait. But you need a little more finesse to catch these big guys with live bait. So before you get out on your boat and attempt for these trophies, practicing and getting comfortable with a few different live bait techniques is a must.

Here are a few live bait techniques you can try:

1. Zero-Weight Fishing

Fishing with no weight means you can allow your live bait to swim around. It is the ideal technique if you’re fishing in relatively shallow and calm waters. Using live crabs can especially work well if you’re targeting striped bass or tautog. Bluefish, though, can eat anything, so you might hook one of those as well.

A quick tip is to let your bait swim 20 to 40 yards away from the boat when fishing with no weight.

2. Weighted Fishing

There are two types of weighted fishing you can try, and this will depend on the waters you’re fishing in. If you’re fishing in deep waters with a strong current, a 3-way rig with 1 to 12 ounces of weight can do wonders. The weight will depend on the strength and speed of the current and the depth of the water. The key to knowing how much weight you need? As long as the weight can keep your line vertical or nearly vertical and you can feel the bottom. Getting the right weight is crucial as some fish can get spooked when they feel the weight on the line.

If the water current is more stable and not that strong, you can use a rubber core sinker attached to the leader. You need to keep your weight as light as you can so as not to spook the fish with the added weight.

3. Balloon, Float, or Kite Fishing

These techniques are a little more intricate but are especially effective and exciting when you're striped bass fishing. Fishing with balloons or floats helps keep the live bait at a specific depth. You can adjust your setup and work it with a chum line for better effect.

Kite fishing, on the other hand, is thrilling, especially when targeting trophy bluefin tuna. It can be quite detailed, so having an experienced Master captain on your side is crucial for your success.

Different Types of Live Bait in Cape Cod

There’s a variety of live bait that you can fish successfully with on the Cape. In the spring and summer, when fishing for striped bass gets hot, your best bet is live lining with Spanish mackerel. Fishing with live eel, on the other hand, may not produce much action in the early summer, but they can get kicking in late July and well into fall. Live eel are also so much more easily procured in many bait and tackle shops across the region. Other live bait you can easily find in Cape Cod are live scup and pogies. 

Another noteworthy Cape Cod live bait is the bunker or Atlantic menhaden. Expert anglers like to use them on striped bass and bluefish. Small tuna like skipjack tuna, false albacore, Atlantic bonito, and mackerel like bullet mackerel, frigate mackerel, and Spanish mackerel are other live bait favorites in Cape Cod. Snapper bluefish under 10 inches can be particularly attractive to giant bluefin tuna. 

If you’re targeting trout in Cape Cod, you can succeed bottom fishing with a small live shiner, nightcrawler, and grass shrimp. Keeping your bait just hovering off the bottom by setting up on a sliding weight rig should help with your success. Slowly working live smelt or minnow along the bottom can attract trout as well.

Bluefish are voracious eaters and can practically eat anything. But if you're targeting giant bluefish, presenting a whole mullet can be particularly effective. However, bluefish are quite notorious for going for the bait fish rear, chopping your live bait in half, so make sure to add a stinger hook to your setup so they won't miss your primary hook.

Live Bait Fishing in Cape Cod

Live bait fishing in Cape Cod Bay, Cape Cod Canal, or anywhere else can be extremely exciting and rewarding - both for newbie anglers or for experts gearing up for new personal records. Book a charter boat with a Master Captain to experience what the fuss is all about in the safest and most comfortable way. With the expert guidance of a Master Captain and an experienced licensed mate, you can enjoy targeting many of Cape Cod's favorites no matter what season you come. Even if you don't manage to nab your target of choice, you will surely have a memorable fishing experience that will keep you coming back to the Cape area for more.