June 9, 2011

The masses have certainly figured out that the ticket to striped bass is a live mackerel, but only a minority are catching 40-pounders, and if you aren’t one, then we’ll tell you how. The flounder fun continues unabated, with the coastline of New Hampshire rivaling Boston Harbor for top spot. For consistent cod, you’ll have to cruise off the edge of Stellwagen, but for haddock your haul should be hectic off the high ground of Jeffreys in only 170 feet of water, provided that you are using the right bait.

What do Captain Mike Bousaleh, Barry Meyers, Pete Santini and Captain Rob Savino have in common? Well other than rooting for the black and gold like the rest of us, they’ve taken 40-pound stripers within the last week on live mackerel! And they’ve all come from deep water. In fact on Wednesday, Captain Mike lost a far bigger fish. The migration is still underway, some of the biggest bass in our realm will be continuing their northward push well into the late stages of June, and their route will be off the coast. Almost overwhelmingly, these guys are trolling with the mackerel with a dual-treble-hook rig and employing some sort of weight system, whether it is an egg sinker or trolling sinker. Massachusetts Bay is littered with humps, bumps and lumps, and you should seek structure within 20 to 80 feet of water. There’s been big fish caught near the “21 Can” off Scituate/Cohasset, the smattering of ledges between Hull and the outer Boston Harbor Islands, and off the East Point off Nahant.

I’m of the opinion that the truly big fish, take “detours” come nightfall during the migration and then are prime for inshore and from-shore pickings. A few intrepid anglers, such as Captain Russ Burgess, will be trolling large-profiled linesider offerings such as Danny-style plugs in the bays of Greater Boston and very discreetly will be picking up 40-pounders, also under the cover of nightfall. I can’t help but wonder how those eel skin plugs of yore would work in these circumstances.

The South Shore just could be a tinder box ready to combust! Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate told me that the place is swollen with striper goodies. From river herring to sea herring to harbor pollock to the ubiquitous mackerel, it’s little wonder that 30-pound stripers are practically becoming routine. There has been no word of bluefish yet, but I would suspect that they’ll sniff out that bait sooner than later. Not all the heavyweights are being taken in deep water. Some guys are jigging up a mess of mackerel and cruising as far upstream into the North and South Rivers as their skiffs will take them, into brackish water that is the domain of age-old monster snapping turtles, and wrenching 30-pound stripers out of there before those big turtles snap up the macks. Now that is an odd couple if I ever heard one! Other spots worthy of a go with live mackerel are The Gurnet, Saquish Rip, High Pine Ledge and Green Harbor. Closer to Boston, give Bare Cove Park in the Weymouth Back River a shot. The Weir, Weymouth Fore River, Weymouth Back, the Neponset, The Charles and the Mystic all offer the potential to deliver a corker cow bass. One major suggestion is to not frequent these places after dark without a friend – sadly, solo surfcasters have been mugged after dark and it is not something to take lightly.

Flounder fishing remains fantastic! You might be thinking that it would be a swell idea for On The Water to shoot its own special for OTW TV. I couldn’t agree more; that’s why publisher Chris Megan and a camera crew are going to be joining Captain Jason Colby and yours truly soon aboard the Little Sister for a shoot that will include not just catching fish but a historical slant on the significance of this uniquely Quincy Bay/Boston Harbor fishery and its comeback. If Jason’s results are any clue, then finding the fish will be the least of our worries. Each trip results in not only limits but 3-pound-plus flatties! The key is a nice steady clam chum, a moving tide, and about 20 feet of water over a muddy bottom interspersed with mussel beds or boulders. We recently had a gang from New York aboard and as we chummed, the current carried astern the scent and scraps toward a rock pile about 20 feet away. As predicted by Captain Colby the chum would draw the flounder from within this structure. Soon the bite was on, but the primary beneficiaries were the anglers in the bow who intercepted the incoming while we who were amidships could only look on in envy.

There are some awfully nice sea bass out there; the Giants gang plucked out what looked to be a 3-pound humphead and Pete Santini caught a comparable one recently as well. Some years we have a nice push of them, and this may be one. They will fall for clams or squid, and I would focus your efforts between Long Island and Georges Island. This might be a good year for them by Powder Point Bridge in Duxbury and other South Shore haunts they frequent, such as Bryant Rock.

With news that there were mackerel and moby bass in the neighborhood, my friend Dave Flaherty from Nahant hustled up to Surfland to get a Daiwa SP Minnow fix. This dead-ringer for mackerel has been in tight supply, but Dave’s timing was right as the shop had just reloaded their shelves. It didn’t take long for Dave to ring his best bass of the season from behind a boulder in the wash. When mackerel are around, surf guys should be packing something that mimics this preferred prey. From Preston Beach Swampscott to Pebble Beach in Rockport, I would head out to a rocky promontory every chance I had and toss out something that resembles a mackerel. The rocks are hot right now! In fact for a shore fisherman fishing north of The Canal, I’d bet there’s no more productive habitat to catch a nice striper right now, especially during the daytime. There is usually plenty of forage; the white water provides cover and the nearby deep water an escape route.

Chunking is always a high-percentage big-fish technique, and you can’t beat fresh mackerel this time of the year. Later, if and when the pogies fill in, they will supplant macks as the king of baits, but right now you have to go with the mackerel. One of the better shore locations to procure mackerel is Salem Willows. And with flounder numbers on the rise, this might also once again become a favorite for those who prefer their blackbacks from the shore.

Jay from First Light Anglers in Rowley confirmed my hunch as a buddy of his took a 44-inch fish from the rocks. Guys have been doing especially well with the Shimano Waxwings. All the usual places are working well in Newburyport, according to Kay from Surfland. Joppa is jumping for the kayak crowd and small-boat angler, especially under low light conditions. Wares that work are Slug-Go type baits, eels and the tube and worm. For two North Shore low-impact methods that work, how about sticking that stick in a sand spike and letting the bait do the trick? Practically in front of Surfland off the open beach they are catching stripers on seaworms with an occasional flounder thrown in the mix. Another laid back, yet effective, method is clamming off Salisbury Beach. There are some nice depressions and bars in the beach, just a stone’s throw from all the hoopla in the center of town, and a few beach some nice bass there at night with clams.

“The catalyst to catch the cows,” AKA mackerel, have returned in force off the New Hampshire coastline according to Jamie from Dover Marine. Some are even doing very well live-lining mackerel from the shore and landing large linesiders. One such spot is Pierce Island in New Castle. Boaters drifting with the macks along the Piscataqua River are hooking up also. Great Bay remains good thanks to the “dropbacks” that keep luring linesiders to the mouths of the tributaries. The flounder fishing is so good in Hampton and Rye Harbors that it rivals the Boston area. Most are drifting with Cape Cod Spinner type rigs that are augmented with a smaller hook. Painting a sinker with a gaudy yellow or pink helps improve the flounder mood also. Some are limiting out with fish of 15 inches to over 20 inches!

There has been some grumbling among the gadoid gang about a dearth of haddock in the mix this year. But the haddock are hitting hot and heavy on the high spot of Jeffreys Ledge in 170 feet of water. The fish are reluctant to jam a jig or take a teaser; instead, bait it, preferably with shrimp!

Those “Mainiacs” are catching stripers on jointed 7-inch Bombers and wood plugs at the dam of the Saco River, so said Peter from Saco Baby. Soft plastics, such as Slug-Gos, Bill Hurleys, and Shankas, as well as Gag’s Whip It eels, are all catching fish. Scarborough Marsh and the sandy bottom has been attracting quite a crowd and the bass are biting on sandworms. The “secret” is out, dab on BioEdge clam potion or wand on clam bait at night off Parsons Beach and see if your “edge” doesn’t drive your fishing buddies nuts as to why you are out-fishing them!

The cod bite remains good on Tantas and Jeffreys ledges. Rainbow-colored Butterfly Jigs, Lava Jigs and Cod Bombs are all accounting for a mixed groundfish grab bag with the best fish of the day usually hovering around 34 inches.

The tuna bite is improving if not yet terrific; there’s a slow pick especially for those that venture toward the “backside” of the Cape. I’m hearing of fish between 60 and 71 inches, a size of fish that must be released due to NMFS regulations. It is still too early to get a feel or make any predictions for this season.

Best Bets

Your best chance for catching a 20-pound-class fish consists of live-lining a mackerel in the bays and rivers. Good options are Plymouth and Duxbury along with the South and North rivers on the South Shore. You may get a bigger bass and maybe one twice that size if you steer toward the open ocean at High Pine Ledge, Minot Ledge or especially Stone Ledge or the “21 Can.” I would keep a close eye on Scituate, there’s a lot of bait there and things could get hot. Closer to the Hub, the methodology is the same, it’s mackerel for the better bass, with the best fish in deeper water such as by Graves Light or the outer Harbor Islands. Flounder remains good throughout Scituate, Hull, Quincy, Boston, the North Shore and in the harbors off New Hampshire. Great Bay anglers have a number of options, from stripers chasing river herring among the tributaries to the hot-as-a pistol Piscataqua River with live mackerel. Bigger bass invade Maine seemingly on each tide. Stick to sandworms and swimming plugs from Scarborough Marsh and Saco Bay.