For those hauling bass out of some very hot harbors, the dog in the “dog days” of summer is looking like a Westminster show pooch. But not everyone in the middle of blitz-city is catching, and if you’re a reluctant member of the audience we’ll show you how to be a participant. While few are looking for flounder, almost like the good old days of yesteryear, those blackbacks are still around. And for something that is not recommended to try and lip-grip, you may even be able to tempt a toothy fluke all the way up to Cape Ann.
Boston Harbor has been on fire the last few days. Blitzes are the norm and I’ve been watching and not everyone is having success. The bait is varied with mackerel, sea herring and even peanut bunker making for a bass buffet. Those hooking up most often are allowing their offerings to sink to the count of 20 before the retrieve is made. This is easier said than done when it’s raining terns and gulls and the echoes of popping bass seem to be everywhere. But what you see is the proverbial “tip of the iceberg” and hunkering down below the bedlam are more and bigger fish.
An awful lot of anglers are tossing soft plastics and swimming plugs with mixed success. I suggest you haul some heavy metal out there. You’ll cast farther and the sink rate will nudge you toward working your wares more deeply. This week I’ve had phenomenal success with the Sebile Vibrato jig in chrome/black back. I’ve also been taking fish with chrome/blue Krocodiles and Butterfly Jigs. Let these jigs/spoons drop to a 20-count; tighten your line and then “rip” the lure back toward you, then crank a bit and “rip’ the lure again. Repeat this cadence all the way up to the boat as a strike could come at any time.
In the middle of the mayhem with dozens of boats all joining in the chase, I couldn’t help but reflect on what a tranquil scene it is come dark. With that I placed a call to my friend Captain Russ Burgess to see how the nocturnal set is doing and he said, “Slow, only about 5 or 6 20-pounders on most nights.” Now while a 20-pounder is not likely to grab you headlines in the Striper Cup, for the heat of the summer a half-dozen of those on “slow” nights isn’t half bad! Incidentally, if you enjoyed my feature on “Trolling for Twilight Trophies” in the current issue of OTW, you’ll probably be pleased to know that Russ, after getting besieged with requests, is taking out charters. While I don’t make it a habit to advertise charter services, I’m making an exception for those who would like to learn under the tutelage of one of the masters of the big bass; you can book him at (617) 224-2366.
South Shore
According to Pete Belsan of Scituate, the bass and blue fishing is slow. There’s no shortage of bait, especially sea herring. But the forage appears all to content to just mosey around. An indicator that tuna may show up closer is the arrival of northern halfbeaks to inshore areas such as Stone Ledge. There’s just something about these speedy cousins of the ballyhoo that drives bluefin bonkers! The bait will often take to the surface to escape the pursuing pelagics with the tuna taking flight also – it is not for the faint of heart. Trolled swimming plugs work real well under these conditions; in fact the olive Al Gag’s Mambo Minnow was a well-kept secret among the tuna-afflicted for years whenever halfbeaks were present.
“Believe it or not, I can barely keep seaworms in stock,” admitted Bob Pronk of Green Harbor Bait and Tackle.” Winter flounder fishing remains fantastic in Green Harbor in spite of the fact that we’re solidly into summer. Bob advises anyone who wants to take a break from striper-mania to drift along the bottom by the first green can in the harbor. When asked about fluke in Duxbury, he told me that he’s still selling fluke essentials even though no-one is talking! While the flats of Kingston/Duxbury are renowned for fluke an unheralded area not far from these parts is High Pine Ledge off Duxbury Beach. You have to pick your drifts thanks to all the lobster gear, but a few fluke for the cooler tends to make it well worth it. Mackerel are still around, although you do have to work harder for them and usually you’ll find bass nearby.
Greater Boston
The calendar screams late July, but the scene that has been playing out in Boston Harbor is pure fall run stuff! Over the weekend as the boats buzzed the harbor, my friend Nick Frasso and first mate Mike Westcott spotted a ribbon of tiny peanut bunker on both Saturday and Sunday that extended from Long Island to Spectacle Island. All those props with purpose kept any sort of gamefish from pounding the peanuts. Bide their time they did an on Monday, they had a bass and blue bonanza all to themselves! Each day this week has been productive with an ever increasing presence of anglers daily. However, some such as Dave Panarella have been jigging up mackerel by the Long Island Bridge and chunking them with some big cows to show for it.
With water temperatures up, I had a hunch that we could find fluke last Friday. In a season which featured more winter flounder than in memory, I was dying to rekindle my relationship with the “lefty” cousin. So Captain Tom Ciulla drifted from Revere Beach to Lynn Harbor with chartreuse Sea Wolfe fluke rigs, sweetened with Berkley Gulp! Squid and chartreuse Gulp! Cut Bait, and on the very first drift, Tom came tight to an 18” fish! A short while later we brought a 21” or 22” flattie to boat side, but like idiots we allowed it to shake off before we could net it. One more was to be caught, a “short” 15” fish. But these fish were all thin, indicating that they are recent arrivals; perhaps the first wave of more to come! One area to consider for fluke is Wollaston Beach. Bob Cox, the former owner of Bob’s Bait Shack, used to tell me that the netters who used to be allowed to capture pogies off the beach used to invariably find fluke in their sets. Yet, I know of no-one who fishes for fluke there! There have also been fluke taken near Pemberton Pier in Hull.
North Shore
Patrick of First Light Anglers in Rowley told me that similar “feeds” to Boston are occurring on the North Shore. From Nahant up through Cape Ann, the surface is occasionally busting up with bass and birds. The bait situation is the same with no shortage of herring and mackerel keeping the fish around. When asked what the FLA go-to lure is when the blitz is on, he offered the Shimano Waxwing. Patrick claims that this slow sinking lure is impossible to fish incorrectly; all that is required is the familiarity with the two models sink rate and then it’s a simple case of pointing the rod tip toward the lure and cranking it in. It’s also a good trolling lure.
Lowlight hours are most productive now with live eels scoring big off Crane’s Beach and the inlet of Good Harbor Beach. Live mackerel are the most prized offering among the rocks of Manchester Harbor and Magnolia by the Sea. Sandy Point off Plum Island has been good also. Double-digit bluefish sweep into Gloucester Harbor and in a flash disappear. Jimmy from Fin and Feather in Essex told me that there are a few pogies in Gloucester Harbor, those blues are doubtless chopping them up, which may make chunking with pogies very productive. No significant tuna presence in Ipswich Bay as of yet, just occasional teases. If the peanut bunker of Boston Harbor are just the leading edge and they move northward this will help lure in tuna.
New Hampshire and Southern Maine
Jamie from Dover Marine said that the Piscataqua River is the hottest striper place around in New Hampshire right now. Surprisingly a weighted, orange tube with seaworm is the best bass catcher at the moment. I always view the Piscataqua as a raging river, but the quieter bays and eddies are ideal for trolling a tube and worm. Jamie bagged a beautiful bluefin of 76” by the Isle of Shoals on a live mackerel the other day. Jamie began drifting the mackerel as soon as he saw the tuna bust up the surface. There are also a few 50” to 60” tuna in the area along with some very big striped bass. Bait consists of butterfish, herring and mackerel. Pogies continue to file into Great Bay leading to optimism that sooner or later the blues and bass will find them.
For cod, you’ll get “dogged” at Jeffrey’s Ledge, and a better bet might be the humps and lumps you mark in 220 to 260 feet of water about 10 to 15 miles out toward Jeffrey’s. While jigging a Sabiki among this structure, looking for baitfish, he’s tied on to a number of 20-pound cod in recent times.
Meanwhile in Saco Bay, ill-prepared anglers are having their live mackerel bitten off their lines. The blues are decent 30- and 31-inch fish. Captain Keith Hall has been doing real well on stripers in Saco Bay with macks as well as soft plastic stick baits such as Slug-Gos, Shankas and Bill Hurley’s. Mid-tide off Pine Point has been productive for clam fisherman from the beach. Look for 180 to 220 feet on Jeffrey’s Ledge and drop a Sea Wolfe Norwegian and OTI teaser for fast action with cusk, cod and haddock. Expect to catch a one-to-one ratio of dogfish, however. Football tuna are crashing bait at Trinidad and Tanta’s. A few thresher sharks are being called into the chum slick and are taking chunk bait.
Best Bets
Boston Harbor is hopping, but allow your offering to sink before you retrieve for bigger and better bass. If “keepers” just aren’t your standard, troll up 20-pounders with big plugs come nighttime. Be first out of your slip and be on the lookout for surface feeds in Swampscott, Marblehead, Salem or Beverly. Or try dragging an eel across the bottom of Crane’s Beach on an ebbing tide; odds are this will work at the mouth of most any river on the North Shore. In New Hampshire, the Piscataqua is hot as a pistol for bass with the tube and worm and for tuna you have to check out the Isle of Shoals with a live mackerel. Bluefish are big news in Saco Bay and there’s a steady groundfish bite in 180 to 220 feet of water on Jeffreys.
Got 2 black sea bass near the Beverly pier today. It was a shock never seen them come up this far, picked up a few flounder to.
You ought to add a little more shore info for those of us who don’t have boats, or are only have paddle power.