Nobska Point (Woods Hole)

Nobska Point, below the lighthouse at the edge of Woods Hole in Falmouth, is where shore anglers can reach the kind of rip that has made the Elizabeth Islands famous for big striped bass. The Fisherman's writer calls it the only gap in the island chain you can fish without a boat: a huge volume of water rushes past on every tide, over a field of boulders. After dark, he says, you'll often have it to yourself.

When to fish

• May, June, September and October: the writer's best months.
• The incoming tide: both of his favorite spots fish best on the flood.
• Night: few people fish it after dark.

Where to fish

• The big flat rock: a minivan-sized rock a short wade from the bottom of the trail, with room for two. Let your lure swing into the boulder field to your right, and vary your casting distance to cover it.
• The submerged jetty: about 300 yards to the left of the flat rock, toward Vineyard Sound. The rocks are slippery and the current is fast.

How to fish it

Use lures that can handle current: darters, bucktails, soft plastics on lead heads and weighted swimming plugs. The writer's favorite method is drifting live eels, with a rubber-core sinker when he needs to get down, in short drifts of 30 seconds to a minute before switching to a slow retrieve. Heavy tackle helps: he has hooked big sharks here as well as bass. When fishing live eels or other bait for stripers, Massachusetts requires inline circle hooks.

Getting there

The writer parks just below Nobska Light; the path to the water is across the street. The current and the slippery rocks make a fall dangerous, so wade carefully. You need a Massachusetts saltwater fishing permit, and striped bass have a slot limit and can't be gaffed.