Massachusetts, New Hampshire & Maine Fishing Reports: 10-20-11

Seldom does a 44” striper and 34” bluefish have the significance it does as in this week’s forecast. The point being that these recent catches, both of which took place north of Boston (the bass was caught in Maine!) are strong indicators that the “run” in front of us is a marathon and we have quite a ways to go still. Just as those elite athletes do not fear Heartbreak Hill in Boston’s famous Marathon, don’t you succumb to heartache at the thought that it is over.

Freshwater

Before we delve into all the fishy opportunities that still exist in the salt, I’d be remiss if I did not comment on the freshwater portion of last week’s forecast. After weeks of hearing from Eddie of B&A Bait and Tackle about how few anglers were enjoying Wachusett Reservoir, and after receiving requests asking for some sweetwater options, I decided to drum up interest in my favorite body of freshwater. According to a forecast reader and steward of the ‘Chu, the mentioning of the salmon in the Stillwater River caused an increase in angling traffic. Unfortunately, some folks were snagging fish and trash was left strewn along one of the Commonwealth’s most valuable watersheds. Fishing here is a privilege, not a right, and the MWRA could shut it down in a moment’s notice. But just as important, the landlocked salmon population in Wachusett Reservoir is on the ropes. It is the only landlocked salmon water in Massachusetts that is totally self-sustaining and one of the few in New England; unlike Quabbin Reservoir, no stocking of salmon takes place in Wachusett, they are all wild fish, which makes them all the more special. Many, me included, regard the landlocked salmon as the most regal, beautiful fresh water fish that swims in New England. If you’ve ever hooked one and witnessed it greyhounding up to 12 times out of the water, you’d know what I mean.

The landlocked salmon in Wachusett has succumbed to a near-lethal one-two punch of a loss of its main forage – the rainbow smelt – and overfishing. Last April, we saw more smelt than we’ve seen in years. While it’s nowhere near the halcyon days of old, there’s reason to be hopeful that perhaps the bait is on the rebound. Now, we have to protect those breeders! And if we do, must maybe 5 or 6 years from now, we’ll have a fishery that parallels the experience of friends of mine. I’m thinking of dearly departed Fred Fosberg who, a little more than a decade ago, took two 6-pound class “footballs” in August on a gold Krocodile, and how about my buddy Larry Kuettner of Clinton regularly tallied 20-plus salmon a year, many of which were over 4 pounds. Today, to catch a salmon in Wachusett proper is almost an aberration, but there is hope. If you choose to catch a salmon in one of the tributaries, how about employing barbless hooks, snapping a quick photo, and letting it back to help repopulate Wachusett Reservoir. And then in a few years, when you hook that 5-pound silver leaper from Tahanto Point, you can honestly say you earned the right to keep that trophy!

A better bet might be to take me up on last week’s suggestion that you jig up some yellows from Wachusett and see what you find. The last time I fished the ‘Chu, I took along my friend Russ Eastman, who is the tackle guru of Monahan Marine. Although Russ was a guest, he insisted that he’d bring the bait since he had some spots near his home where he could catch wild forage. When I looked in that bucket and saw small yellow perch, I knew we would be into fish in short order. True to form, the first perch was not in the water five minutes when we had a 4-pound smallie flopping on the shore. Not unlike the 4-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth bass that was just taken by Joe Maple from the Gate 35 side of the reservoir on a (you guessed it) yellow perch.

South Shore

The big news on the South Shore is literally big, as in giant “grander” tuna. Bob Pronk of Green Harbor B&T told me of two mammoth tuna taken in the last week by his customers that topped 1000 pounds and they were caught from Cape Cod Bay! When asked to shed some light on what for many is such a mystifying fishery, Bob recommended that anglers anchor up near a dragger, chum like crazy and “Sabiki-up” some whiting as bait. Then it’s a case of lowering the live whiting down to marked fish courtesy of a rubber band fastened to 32-ounces of lead. Another trick that the eccentric tuna diehards employ is to use black rubber bands only. When I asked Bob if he believed that black verses brown really makes a difference, he replied, “Beats me, but I can’t keep them in stock!”

Across the board those “missing” schoolies have suddenly appeared. I’m not sure where those 16” to 19” striped bass have been all season but they seem to have invaded much of our coast by the thousands and the South Shore is no exception. Pete from Belsan told me that Third Cliff was lit up with those little linesiders on Tuesday. But there’s been precious little to show for big fish. An option some are choosing is cod from inshore humps. Places such as Flat Ledge and the “21 Can” have been quietly rewarding

Greater Boston

Wednesday morning Point Allerton in Hull was awash with stripers. The problem was that the size fish descended from 25” to 16” and at that point I couldn’t keep the little buggers off the line. The bait appeared to be small herring and whenever the bait is small and slim-profiled I snap on a Vision Surf Eel, which have earned a permanent place in my surf bag over the last few years.  Try as I may, I could not eke out a larger linesider even though I let the lure drop below the carnage and fished to the side and behind the roving mass of fish.

Maybe a better bet would have been Boston Harbor, which on Tuesday featured acres of striped bass by Deer Island. Pete “the jigman” dropped bucktails below the mass of fish and picked up two 20-pounders for his efforts. Don’t give up on the harbor just yet – there are still bluefish around. Wednesday morning, my buddy Ricky Paone saw two flopping choppers that an angler had just hauled onto the Rutherford Ave Bridge between Charlestown and the North End.

And then there’s smelt. The “Shrimp King” Rick Newcomb from Fore River Bait and Tackle in Quincy has been seeing a surge in interest for this fall/winter staple. With that he has been going to great lengths, even traveling so far as the Cape, to procure grass shrimp for the insatiable appetite of smelt sleuths that just have to have the best bait there is. But it is all worth the effort since smelt are hitting and in numerous locations. Aside from the standbys such as Hull, they’re getting smelt off the Nut Island Pier, Marina Bay and Castle Island. Don’t just limit your smelt snooping to Castle Island if you’re near Southie, I know of anglers who have done quite well on higher tides at Kelly’s Landing, the nearby yacht club and the bridge leading to the Sugar Bowl. Chances are you’ll find smelt most anywhere in the Greater Boston area where you find a dock, pier or wharf. Nightime is everything and a light source sure helps. Dave Panarella and his buddy Karl Vining can still be found vacillating between the Amelia Earhart Dam and Boston Harbor, and while the location may change, the catching of stripers continues.

North Shore

The same-size schoolies that invaded Hull and Scituate have been present in Lynn Harbor as well. Early in the morning has been best and it is almost impossible not to see and hear the flocks of sea birds shadowing the busting bass. Boaters have been in on the bass but shore guys tossing various wares have been intercepting fish from the Lynn wharf out to the boat ramp on the Lynnway. There are still blues around however and they are not all snappers. A mid-30 incher was taken last weekend by a guy chunking off the wharf.

Nat Moody of First Light Anglers told me that first and last light have definitely been the most productive for those chasing surface feeding fish from Gloucester to Beverly and sandy beaches have been the most productive. The principle forage appears to be herring. Those same herring schools have attracted tuna into Ipswich Bay as well. Halfbeaks had held sway over Charlie and the gang but as October wanes this temperate baitfish tends to retreat to warmer environs. Tuna are behaving differently now and are more tightly grouped because herring is much easier to round-up (as opposed to halfbeaks, which scatter when under siege). You may have to search longer for fish now, but odds are that when you find them they will be more numerous. This may also be one of your better opportunities to hang a tuna on a popper!

Kay from Surfland told me that the theme song of Plum Island is more of a dirge as few are fishing. There has been an uptick in small bass numbers; again that same under-20-inch size fish that has been prevalent elsewhere. The surfcasters that are still catching are casting bait from the sands of the Parker River Wildlife Reservation.

New Hampshire and Southern Maine

It’s practically a cause for celebration because there has been bass buzz in both New Hampshire and Maine! Tyler of Suds ‘N Soda told me of schoolie action in the Piscataqua River, especially by the mouth. And the best news of all was from Peter of Saco Bay Tackle Company in Maine who sent me a picture of a nice 44” that was taken and then released on a live eel from Kennebunk Beach over the weekend by Shawn McEwen. The reference of the email from Peter said it all: The fish are still here! It’s just that the anglers aren’t. Elsewhere there’s a pretty good offshore haddock bite at The Curl, with some of the fish 25” to 27” long! Jamie from Dover Marine told me that the crappie are on a tear at the Bellamy Reservoir. Right from the shore, a buddy of his slammed some real slabs between 12” and 14”. The fish are hitting curly tail grubs, small marabou jigs and tiny shiners.

Best Bets

Sure, some stripers have departed for southern environs, but there’s plenty more on the way. Scituate has been a schoolie-fest, but will those 20-pounders that were in Boston Harbor the other day be blitzing herring against the beaches on the South Shore this weekend? Or will they say put in the harbor, basking in the prevalent pogies and the lack of anglers pursuing them? For a shore shot at bass and blues, toss a chunk off Nut Island, Castle Island or Deer Island. All those places should be producers of smelt come dusk as well. If you’re up to snuff, “get jiggy” with a few whiting in Cape Cod Bay for brutish bluefin or pitch a popper to porpoising pelagics in Ipswich Bay. Up north there are stripers just looking for a surf rat to play with. And if you have a sweet tooth, there’s super-sized smallies in Wachusett and slab crappie in Bellamy Reservoir.