The One Lure That Needs to Be in Your Tackle Box This July on Cape Cod: The Mighty Fish A17 Jig

If there is one lure that has earned permanent residency in every "in the know" Cape Cod fishermen's tackle bag, it's the The Mighty Fish A17 Diamond Jig.

July is one of the most exciting months to fish Cape Cod. Sand eels, silversides, juvenile mackerel, and other small baitfish dominate the menu. Striped bass are feeding in deeper water during the day, bluefish are patrolling beaches and rips, and the first schools of bonito can show up with little warning. Finding one lure that can catch all of them isn't easy—but the A17 Diamond Jig comes remarkably close.

Why the A17 Works

The A17's simple, slender profile perfectly imitates the long, thin baitfish that predators key on throughout the summer. Its chrome finish flashes like a fleeing sand eel, while its compact weight allows anglers to cast impressive distances—even into the stiff southwest winds that are common on Cape Cod.

Whether you're standing on a jetty, walking the outer beaches, fishing from a kayak, or drifting over rips from a boat, the A17 gives you the versatility to cover water quickly and reach fish that other lures simply can't. Its design has made it a Cape Cod classic for generations of anglers.

A Lure for Every July Species

One of the biggest advantages of carrying an A17 is that you never know what might eat it.

• Striped Bass: Cast it around rocky points, rips, and shoals. Let it sink before retrieving with a fast, steady crank or a lift-and-drop jigging motion.

• Bluefish: Burn it across breaking fish. The flash and speed often trigger violent reaction strikes.

• Bonito: When those first schools appear in July, the A17's long casting ability lets you reach fast-moving fish before they sound.

• False Albacore: Later in the summer, many anglers still keep an A17 ready because it mimics the small baitfish albies feed on.

Surf, Boat, or Kayak

Few lures perform equally well from every platform.

From the beach, the A17's weight allows you to launch long casts into breaking fish.

From a boat, it excels when jigged vertically over structure or cast into surface feeds.

Kayak anglers appreciate how it covers nearly every fishing situation they encounter.

Simple but Effective

One of the reasons the A17 has remained popular for decades is that it doesn't require complicated techniques.

Try these retrieves:

• Fast, steady retrieve for bluefish and bonito.

• Medium retrieve with occasional twitches for striped bass.

• Allow the jig to hit bottom, then lift and let it flutter back down around structure.

• Add a small teaser fly 18-24 inches above the jig when sand eels are abundant for even more hookups.

Keep Several Ready

Experienced Cape Cod anglers rarely carry just one.

Keep a few A17s rigged and ready because bluefish have a habit of biting leaders, rocks claim their share every season, and when fish are blitzing, you don't want to run out.

Every tackle box has its "confidence lure"—the one you reach for when you need to catch fish.

On Cape Cod in July, that lure is the The Mighty Fish A17 Diamond Jig.

It's affordable, casts like a missile, imitates the baitfish that dominate Cape waters, and catches nearly every gamefish swimming along our shoreline. If you could only bring one lure fishing this month, the A17 would be an easy choice.

Order online or stop by Goose Hummock Shops and pick up a few before your next trip. Once you fish one, you'll understand why generations of Cape Cod anglers never leave home without an A17.