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Marthas Vineyard Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Sep 14, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

An island of famous shorelines: Martha’s Vineyard holds stripers, bluefish, bonito and false albacore.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 6:51 PM
Air / High
71 / 71 F
Wind
NNW 12 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8447930, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Monday
14
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Marthas Vineyard offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind NNW around 12 mph, rising pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 71. Tides: high 10:58 AM and 11:21 PM, low 5:14 AM and 6:51 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 72 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing crescent, the solunar majors run 1:11 AM-3:11 AM and 1:11 PM-3:11 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

BluefishExcellent

Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

Striped bassGood

Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 65 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Sep 15, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8447930 (Woods Hole, MA). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Mon
LOW5:14 AM0.5 ft
HIGH10:58 AM2.5 ft
LOW6:51 PM0.4 ft
HIGH11:21 PM1.8 ft
Tue
LOW5:33 AM0.6 ft
HIGH11:47 AM2.3 ft
LOW7:55 PM0.5 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp71 F
High / Low71 / 58 F
WindNNW 12-19 mph
Pressure1015.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 22%
Sunrise / Sunset06:21 / 18:53
MoonWaxing Crescent, 8%
Water temp (seasonal)~72 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Mon Sep 14 · Showers, 71/58 F, wind 12 mph, rain 22%

Fair or better. A 12 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Marthas Vineyard: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Best: Sep-Oct blitzes

The ocean's most honest fish: when blues blitz bait on the beach, everything with hooks gets bit. Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

When to come: the Marthas Vineyard calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Striped bass
Bluefish
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 72 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~72 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Marthas Vineyard today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Sep 13

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 11 mph.

Sat, Sep 12

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 8 mph.

Fri, Sep 11

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Massachusetts requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Massachusetts saltwater permit. Striped bass, bluefish and fluke are size- and season-regulated: check current DMF rules and local beach access permits.

Access

Ferries from Woods Hole; beach, jetty and pond access around the island with varying permit requirements.

About this water

An island off the south coast of Cape Cod, Dukes County, Massachusetts.

Fishing Marthas Vineyard: the full guide

An island built for surfcasters

Martha’s Vineyard lies off the south coast of Cape Cod, an island of beaches, rocky points, jetties and salt ponds that has been a striped bass destination for generations. Striped bass, bluefish, bonito and false albacore make up the core fishery, with fluke and scup adding to the summer bottom fishing.

Stripers and blues

Striped bass work the rips, the points and the beaches, taken on plugs, soft plastics, flies and live eels through the night and the low-light hours. Wasque, Squibnocket, Lobsterville and the jetties at Menemsha are the storied spots. Bluefish push in through summer and turn the fishing violent and fast.

The fall run

Late summer and fall bring bonito and then false albacore, fast pelagic fish that blitz bait on the surface and take small metals and flies stripped quickly. The Vineyard’s Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, run each fall, is one of the most storied fishing tournaments in the country and defines the island’s autumn.

Dukes County logistics

Ferries run from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs, with vehicle reservations essential in season. Beach access rules vary and some areas require permits or are private: check before driving on sand. Tackle shops in Edgartown and Vineyard Haven know the current bite and are worth visiting first.

Common questions

When is the fall run?

Late summer into fall, when bonito and then false albacore arrive and blitz bait on the surface.

What is the Derby?

The Vineyard’s Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, a storied fall tournament that defines the island’s autumn.

Do I need a beach permit?

For some areas, yes, and others are private. Check local rules before driving on sand.

Is fishing good at Marthas Vineyard right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Buzzards Bay19 miCape Cod Canal27 miSakonnet River32 miStafford Pond33 miNarragansett44 miWickford Harbor45 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8447930 — Woods Hole, MA
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 11 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.3900, -70.6100 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Written and reviewed by a person against the sources above. Errors are published in the verification log, not quietly corrected.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.

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