The 2025 fly fishing season on the Vineyard is coming to an end, and while it may be bittersweet, what a season we had! From sight fishing the flats and throwing big squid flies to bass in the rips, to running and gunning for hardtails, this season stayed action-packed until the very end. While Kismet Outfitters guided fly fishing charters on Martha's Vineyard may be finished for 2025, we already have our sights set on 2026! First, let's have a look back and recap another successful fly fishing season on Martha's Vineyard.
Spring
For the first time in several years, we had a long, cold, and rainy Spring. The cooler water temps and lack of baitfish in close meant our shore fishing was off to a later-than-usual start. However, the fly fishing in the rips off Martha's Vineyard was about as good as we've experienced!
If you've never fished the squid migration on the Vineyard in May and June, you owe it to yourself to experience it at least once in your lifetime! Striped bass are aggressive, hangry, and absolutely hammer their favorite helpless prey trapped in rough current.
There were days when hook-ups with big bass happened on what seemed like every cast, nearly as soon as the squid fly hit the water. A client from England booked three days for 2026 after experiencing "the best fishing of my life." If throwing big flies to voracious predators sounds like your idea of a good time, don't wait to book your guided Martha's Vineyard fly fishing charter because our May and June dates book fast.
In June, the shore and flats fishing came alive after the vast swaths of sandeels became more abundant in our local waters. Anglers unfamiliar with shore-based striper fishing on the Vineyard may have images of anglers standing in chest-high unruly surf, blind casting big flies over waves like in other New England fisheries. However, Martha's Vineyard's oceanside flats offer shallow-water sightfishing opportunities that leave some anglers convinced they are in the Bahamas, fishing for bonefish.
Summer
Thanks to the cooler Spring, the Vineyard was blessed with mild water temperatures for most of the Summer and happy fish! While the 'Dog Days of Summer' might not convey the romantic angling images of Spring and Fall, this Summer provided some of the most consistent fly fishing of the season.
Big bluefish were largely absent from Vineyard waters in 2024 but were back with a vengeance this year. Bluefish are an often overlooked gamefish that don't get the respect that striped bass and albies command. However, they are voracious predators that wreak havoc on anything in their path. Once you experience bluefish blitzing on sandeels, see them annihilate a topwater fly or plug, and feel the full throttle fight, you'll understand just how special these fish are.
After a steady few weeks of boat trips targeting bluefish in the rips, the yellow-eyed aquatic devils entered the mix with stripers to provide excellent shore fishing. For much of the Summer, I had no problem finding blues and bass corralling sandeels mere feet from shore in the evenings. Getting out for a productive, quick session in the morning or after the temps have dropped off in the evening is what Summers on the Vineyard are all about. Summer is also the perfect time to pencil in a quick fishing trip during a family vacation, and Kismet Outfitters was lucky enough to work with several beginner anglers to help land their first fish!
Fall
The Fall fly fishing season on Martha's Vineyard may be wrapping up, and even though there are still fish around, I'm a bit starry-eyed thinking about the epic fishing we had just a few weeks ago. If you have yet to experience the magic of Martha's Vineyard's Fall Run, stop what you're doing and start making preparations for next year! We've had the privilege of fishing some pretty spectacular places, but we wouldn't trade September and October on the Yard for anywhere!
Like last year, bonito showed up in August and stayed throughout the Fall. Historically, big schools of bones start to disappear once false albacore enter the mix by mid-September. However, a late showing from albies allowed our charters to consistently put clients on bonito for the better part of three months!
Albies are the Fall's main prize for many, and anglers travel from all over the world to fish for them on Martha's Vineyard in September and October. This year was a little more challenging, especially from shore. However, the fishing during the back half of the 'Fall Run' turned a corner, and albies finally started to mix in with bonito before becoming more dominant.
As the water cooled, stripers migrated back down from Maine, joining their buddies who held over for the season. While so many anglers are focused on the hardtails during the Fall, the sight fishing for striped bass was incredible. I can't think of many fishing situations more enjoyable than sight fishing to cruising stripers in gin-clear water on a mild October day.
While the season is wrapping up for 2025, it's not too late to start making plans for 2026. We book fast, especially for the prime dates in the Spring and Fall. As a bonus, if you book a 2026 charter by the end of 2025, we'll throw in a free casting lesson before your trip! Even though we're finished with guiding on the Vineyard for the season, destination travel season is heating up! Stay tuned for our next blog on destination travel tips. Please email info@kismetoutfitters.com or call the shop at 774-549-5921 for any questions and to book your trip today!
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