Massachusetts New Hampshire Maine Fishing Forecast 9-22-2011

It’s highly unusual to not have striper talk dominating this late September forecast, but it’s another gamester that just may be causing a bigger stir. That’s not to say that linesiders are showing no love; in fact, Boston Harbor exploded this week as bass up to 45 pounds finally sniffed out all those pogies. But in all probability, the most exciting angling we have in these parts is courtesy of football tuna that are busting topwater plugs within view of the shore and giving anglers outfitted with bass gear one heck of a workout.

There is no shortage of top-rod striper fishermen expressing concern over the state of the linesider stock. And while overall numbers may be off, if you were chasing pogies in Boston Harbor on Wednesday morning, you may have thought you were in striper heaven. Those pogies that have taken up residence between the ILS Pier and Castle Island and were so far fodder for little more than alligator blues finally got the attention of bass. And what bass! On Wednesday from first light to late morning, local “Fishing FINatic” Pete Santini enjoyed stellar striper action as big bass up to 45 pounds slugged it out with bluefish for pogies. Whoa!  Never lose hope when the calendar says late September and you are able to find a school of pogies!

South Shore

There have been some insanely large giant bluefin taken from Cape Cod Bay within the last week, including at least one grander. Bob Pronk told me that pogies from Duxbury Bay are accounting for many of these mammoth fish. There are still plenty of mackerel around and anglers live lining or trolling them just off the beaches on the South Shore are taking stripers up to 37 pounds. Chunk mackerel is the ticket for the surf set who are tossing them into the wash off Burkes Beach and Rexhame Beach. Bluefish have definitely shown up in force; you’ll catch fewer blues and more bass if you fish at nighttime.

Pete from Belsan’s said that he has weighed in a few 30-pound stripers within the last week. The mackerel and the bass, along with 8-pound class choppers, seem to be the heaviest between the bell outside of Scituate Harbor and the Tar Pouch. Rocky shorelines, whether it be Egypt Beach, Minot or Black Beach in Cohasset, are all good bets for surf fishermen. There have been a few “funny fish” taken in the Scituate area; an angler jigging mackerel caught a baby bonito!

Greater Boston

Captain Russ Burgess had a couple of decent nighttime Danny plug trolling outings that resulted in about a half-dozen stripers up to 20 pounds, but other nights were dismal at best, which is very uncharacteristic for him on any night, let alone in September. If you search around you should be able to find some pogies between the ILS Pier and Spectacle Island and out to Castle Island, and while you may have been flummoxed in previous outings by bluefish after bluefish, the 45-pound linesiders that figured into the mix this week should energize you to keep casting. If you can’t find the cows under the bait, then try chunking by Lions Rock off Spectacle Island or off Thompson Island or Long Island, you may find stripers staging closer to the structure than the bluefish.

Rick from Fore River told me of smelt hoopla off Hull. Over the weekend, Hull Public Pier had nary a foot of dock space that wasn’t occupied by a smelt fisherman as the little fish have moved in big time. Other productive smelt spots are the Town River, Summer Street, Castle Island and Hewitt’s Cove. Not surprisingly, the “Shrimp King” has been sifting the brackish backwaters of Quincy tirelessly to keep the smelt diehards in grass shrimp. There have also been a few smelt stalwarts from Winthrop and Revere who have been making the trek to Quincy, which leads me to believe that smelt must be in Winthrop Harbor and maybe the Belle Isle Creek. For stripers and blues Rick recommends trolling Cape Cod spinners, the tube and worm and diving plugs between Quarantine Rocks, Sunken Ledge and Wreck Rock. Shore slingers should check out Nut Island.

North Shore

The big swells of the past week should subside somewhat, making the rocky coast of the north shore less treacherous for the striper hunter/rock climber. The bait consists of primarily small sea herring and a smattering of mixed sizes of mackerel. The herring might have fish on them but the mackerel most likely will. Keep an eye out for birds and nervous water that will give the activity away. Off Nahant there have been bait balls with bass and blues right under them. Keep some tin handy such as a Crippled Herring or Kastmaster should the predators be feeding on the sea herring; with mackerel you’ll fare better live-lining the forage or trolling deep-diving plugs such as the Sebile LL Koolie Minnow.

While the Pats may have been playing for two weeks now, for those that long for some of the most exciting topwater action in New England, football season has really begun! On Wednesday morning Nat Moody from First Light Anglers in Rowley encountered 40-inch-plus schoolie tuna nearly everywhere he cruised from Rockport to the NW corner of Stellwagen, and some of these locations were within a few miles from shore. He even saw some tuna crashing bait right outside of Boston Harbor! Nearly everywhere he went he saw anglers tossing poppers at the busting fish and most boats caught multiple fish! All that inshore bait, including halfbeaks, has attracted these small tuna, and while these fish are big on thrills, they are low on expense since quality striper gear is enough to subdue these fish. If you have the vessel and the HMS permit for the adventure, you have to check this stuff out this weekend.

Patrick of Fist Light Anglers paddled his kayak with a few eels on the backside of Gloucester and landed a 46-pound striper for his efforts! They are catching 30-pound class stripers in the Plum Island area, according to Mike from Surfland. Boaters are trolling Rapala CD18 magnums from the Polio Camp to Emerson Rocks; most of the action is taking place in 30 feet of water. Shore slingers are doing best with seaworms and bloodworms from the mouth of the Merrimack River along the beach and into the Parker River Wildlife Reservation.

New Hampshire and Southern Maine

Jamie from Dover Marine said that the most exciting angling off the Granite State Coast is probably the groundfishing in the inshore humps, lumps and clumps within 8 to 10 miles of Rye Harbor. Cod in the 20-pound bracket along with some healthy haddock have moved inshore in solid numbers. Most of the catching is taking place with bait. The striper fishing was pretty good throughout the Piscataqua River and into Little Bay with the tube and worm accounting for many fish, but this seems to have cooled down. The few that are still at it are awaiting the next wave of bass to cruise down the coast from Maine.

Now that the monsoons of the past weeks have past, Saco Bay has cleared up a bit and the fishing is better. Spike mackerel are abundant and are being scattered throughout Saco Bay by schools of bluefish and stripers.  Deep divers and vertical jigs such as Shimano Butterflies are producing, as well as live offerings such as eels and live mackerel.  Fear not: blitzes are still a reality in Saco Bay!

The tuna fleet was back at it this week with many hookups reported.  Fish in the 200- to 300-pound range seem to be the norm.  Numbers have been hard to figure as the late season leaves few but the hard-core and tight-lipped left. One fisherman reported seeing three different boats hooked into large fish simultaneously on the northern end of Jeffereys Ledge this week.  Offshore shark fishing continues to produce.  Blue sharks with a mix of makos and possibly a thresher are possibilities this month.  Many monster blue sharks in the 10-foot-plus category can be found surprisingly close to harbors like Portland, Saco, Kennebunkport, Wells, and York.  Find 400-foot depths and set up a chum slick; for those used to blues and bass, the sight of one of these sharks clamped on your hook at boatside is one you’ll never forget.

Groundfishing off the Maine coast is improving daily as water temperatures have cooled just a bit.  Bait-fishing with sandworms and shrimp appears to be the recent formula for success. Try a SeaWolfe Cod or Haddock rig or a jig and teaser combo with a Carlson Jig on the bottom and bait on your dropper loop.  Weekend conditions look promising with relatively tranquil seas for a change. The few that braved the trip to Jeffreys Ledge reported great groundfishing.

Best Bets

For South Shore stripers, jig up some mackerel and slowly troll along the Gurnet, High Pine Ledge, Green Harbor and Scituate Harbor. Boston Harbor has been bluefish central, but if you find some pogies, you may find the bass up tight against Spectacle or Thompson islands. On the North Shore slither an eel come dark off the rocks of East Gloucester or troll a deep diver plug in 30 feet of water off Plum Island. Farther north, there’s still striper game in Saco Bay, and with predicted calm seas, the groundfish bite should be on fire at Jeffreys Ledge.

But the absolute best of the best has to be topwater plug tossing for inshore football tuna. Look for these 40-inch dynamos off Minots Light, Graves Light, Egg Rock, Thatchers Island and Halibut Point. Tote along a few Yo-Zuri Hydro Poppers and Sebile Splashers and just make sure your drag is a smooth operator!