Between Buzzards Bay and Martha’s Vineyard, 10 miles out to sea off the coast of Massachusetts, you will find Cuttyhunk Island. Early seafarers used the island’s natural harbor as a shelter for a few weeks in 1604, making it the first English settlement in New England.
When I first visited Cuttyhunk, I could have been in the Bahamas; it was warm and beautiful. It has New England charm with the relaxed feel of the Islands. In addition to the beautiful scenery and fun atmosphere, Cuttyhunk has made a name for itself as a premier striper fishing destination in the Elizabethan Islands.
In the summer, this small village is populated with surf casters and clients chartering one of the eight captains on the island. I fell into the former category and benefited from the sage advice of my friend Armand, who has been making an annual pilgrimage to this island for nearly 40 years. Armand knows all the locals, and he knows that the person for us to fish with on this trip would be Captain Bruce Borges, because Captain Borges was the only one on the island with a boat that had a full casting platform suited to pursue bass with a fly rod.
Capt. Bruce is quite the fly angler himself and has guided big names such as Lefty Cray over the years. He is a sharp-
witted salty fellow who looks all of 78 his years but possessed the strength and agility of a man in his 50s. As soon as we unloaded our gear from the ferry, we set out to fish the shoreline from the captain’s nicely appointed boat the Wahini. As we worked the rocky shoreline, I was impressed by the rugged beauty of this place.
Cuttyhunk sits in the middle of the striped bass prespawn staging area. Fish glut themselves on an abundance of squid and sand eels as well as school after school of bunker. Once the water warms to the perfect temperature, the fish move inland and up the many tributaries throughout Massachusetts and Maine to spawn. This makes for a great fishery full of fish ranging from small schoolies up to 50-pound-plus monsters. It is all about timing as to whether you will catch the big fish or just the schoolies.
On this trip, it was the latter, but there were larger fish around, and bait fishermen were having better luck with the big fish. You know what they say, “they never refuse the naturals.” If you ever find yourself around Cape Cod and looking for some great fishing, check out Cuttyhunk. Even if you just take the ferry over for the day and spend some time on the beach with the family, I promise you will enjoy this beautiful and quaint Island.