​If you plan a Martha’s Vineyard visit, and you want to try your luck with one of the many sport fish that swim off our beautiful beaches, join us. You will be in good company. Islanders love to fish. It is part of our culture and history. ​

fishing learning curve. ​ Still, the easiest way to wet a line is to merely pick up a fishing rod and head to the beach. And while shore fishing access is problematic in many New England seaside communities, thanks to Island municipalities and public and private

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, a public agency funded by a two percent real estate transfer fee, provides public fishing access around the Island from Cape Poge Gut on Chappy to Moshup Beach in Aquinnah, the Vineyard’s westernmost town. A list of all Land Bank properties may be found on the agency’s website at mvlandbank.com​. ​​

​The down-Island towns of Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Tisbury impose no residency beach restrictions. Although the up-Island towns – West Tisbury, Chilmark, and Aquinnah –  impose resident-only summer beach parking restrictions (in-town renters and inn guests may get a pass), there is limited public fishing access.
For example, Menemsha Beach in Chilmark is open to the public. The town allows fishermen to park at Squibnocket Beach after 5 pm in the summer months and during the day in the off season.
West Tisbury offers permits that allow fishermen to park in the Lambert’s Cove Beach parking lot at night in the summer. There is also day fishing access to Long Point Beach, owned and managed by The Trustees.

But the colonial ordinance does not allow someone to trespass on privately owned land to revel in those rights. For example, a fisherman may walk between the low and high water mark to fish, but he or she may not cross private property to get to the shoreline. The key is to be considerate and respectful of private property.
Mid-May is the unofficial start of the Island’s fishing season. The first bluefish and striped bass arrive then, with more, and in some cases larger, fish to follow. Soon fluke (summer flounder) and black sea bass show up, and by the end of the summer bonito and false albacore ratchet up the excitement of fishing in near-shore Vineyard waters.

With its broad tail and powerful head the striper is built to prowl the rips, surf, and lurking boulders that surround the Island. Landing a big fish from the surf is a notable achievement. Bluefish provide plenty of excitement when they arrive along Island beaches. Blues most often feed in schools, but large, solitary fish also prowl the shoreline. Bluefish have very sharp teeth and a malevolent attitude. They are mean. You can see it in their eyes. Blues stare at you. A hooked blue will follow your movements and project an attitude. "Go ahead, make my day."
Scup (porgies) are scrappy little fish and great fun on light tackle. They are also tasty. Scup may be found off jetties and piers from shore, off rock piles and while fishing for other bottom species. Scup are mostly small but it is not unusual to catch one the size of a dinner plate.
Irrespective of fishing success, the ability to speak authoritatively about fishing is what will help you to carry on a conversation with other fishermen in a tackle shop or on the beach. The following phrases provide a starting point for general conversation Vineyard style. ​

Now, there are two schools of thought about how to pronounce Wasque. There is the “waskey” school, and the “weighskwee” school. Choose either one, but be prepared for a well-known fisherman, who shall remain nameless, never to pronounce it the way you do.  Asked how he pronounces it, this veteran told me, “Well, it depends on how the person I’m talking to says it. If he says waskey, I say weighskwee, I do it just to confuse them.”
Another fishing conversation anchor is the matter of bait — the absence or abundance does not matter — only that you refer to it, specifically either sand eels or squid. For example, “Squid are a little late this season,” or “Seen any sand eels?” Of course, useful combinations may be created by matching squid, Wasque, and bluefish: “I caught a blue at Wasque, and it was full of squid.”
Other handy phrases include references to a falling or rising tide, and a rock, any rock, as long as you refer to it with an air of authority so that the other person, unwilling to appear a novice, is too timid to ask which rock.
The best way to discuss how wind, tide, or an absence or abundance of bait will affect the fishing is to speak sparingly and convincingly. No elaboration or explanation is needed.  “I like this wind,” sounds good. But for basic conversation, on Martha’s Vineyard, “How’s the fishing?” is best.