HomeFishing Atlantic Bonito
Species · Southern New England

Atlantic Bonito

Also known as bonito.

A striped, mackerel-like tuna cousin that visits nearshore in summer and fall, often mixed with albies but distinguished by dark back stripes — and, unlike albies, good eating. A fast, willing light-tackle and fly target.

When they run

July–September, sometimes into October; timing is variable year to year and often overlaps the albie run.

How to catch them

  • Sight-casting to feeding schools
  • Trolling small spoons/feathers
  • Fast-retrieved metals
  • Fly fishing

Bait & lures

Small epoxy jigs and slim metalsSmall soft plasticsTrolled spoons/tubesSilverside/anchovy flies

Where to find them

Nearshore open water, rips and sounds, around islands where bait concentrates (notably off the Vineyard and Nantucket).

Often best around the Vineyard/Nantucket area and the RI south shore.

Catch reports from cruisers

No catch reports for Atlantic Bonito yet. Landed one in these waters? Add the first — real reports only, moderated before they appear.

Report a catch

Augusto fishing notes are a starting point, not a guarantee — fish move with the water and the season. Nothing here is a substitute for current state regulations or local knowledge.