Most would say that any striper in late October is a good one. But a few are forgoing the finesse/schoolie stuff and catching their personal-best bass of the season! Out a bit, there’s roving packs of school tuna that chase down mackerel and Butterfly jigs with equal relish. While inshore cod has been under the radar of most anglers’ objectives, this fall has been the best in quite a few years. And then there’s Wachusett Reservoir where some are catching blazing foliage and 13-pound, 10-ounce lakers.
Last Friday I got a call from my friend Gary Soldati, of BigWaterLures distinction, who told me he had achieved an angling milestone: he nailed a 50-pound striper from Rhode Island suds. Or more accurately, a 51-pound linesider! A few days later there were 35-pound bass taken from Winthrop to Scituate. Now while there are more than a few miles separating the Five Sisters from Watch Hill, all these nice fish were landed with big offerings.
The fish off Winthrop was caught by a guy who picked up a couple of Gibbs Deep Diving Dannies from Fishing FINatics in Everett and heeded the advice of Pete Santini to give the shoreline of Winthrop a go. At dusk, the angler took his striper-of-the-season in 30 feet of water. Similarly sized 30-pound class bass were bested by South Shore sleuths that live-lined mackerel among the cliffs of Scituate. In Gary’s case, he shoved aside his smaller plugs and plucked out one of his Giant Pikes from his surf bag. This lure has the dimensions of a Lousville Slugger! The tale of the scale said it all – 51 pounds of striped bass!
By the way, there have been plenty of 18- to 22-inch schoolies taken by anglers who have felt the need to downsize!
Freshwater
I’m beginning to morph from suds worshipper to sweet-water walker. Partly because the call of the woods has become a cacophony, but mostly because I got word from Eddie of B&A in West Boylston that a 13-pound, 10-ounce laker was taken from the Rte. 70 side of Wachusett Reservoir on a chrome Kastmaster. On Tuesday I longed for the lee to escape the wind and bask in the sunshine; I toured the Rte. 140 side of the big pond and had three swings and two hits worth of 18-inch lake trout to show for it. I rummaged through countless color combinations, but on that day the venerable blue/chrome ¾-ounce Kastmaster was king. I’ll be back since I know full well that there are lakers in the ‘chu big enough to frighten that 13-10.
South Shore
Could this be a case of “saving the best for last?” Pete from Belsan’s told me that the handful of anglers still at it lit up the fish last weekend. Schoolie stripers were bingeing on brit herring from the Glades Jetty out to Fourth Cliff. The birds gave the bedlam away. But some adopted a different plan and jigged up the still-plentiful mackerel and live-lined or trolled in the very same spots where junior and the gang were feeding, and they had 30-pound fish to show for their efforts.
A case could be made for the inshore cod fishing. Russet rock cod up to 19 pounds have been a steady bite for weeks now in about 50 feet of water just off Scituate and Cohassett. This is treacherous bottom here and a lot of snags; a single hook cod jig, such as SeaWolfe’s Cod Bomb, can save you a lot of headaches. The cod conundrum is that as of November 1, regulations are such that north of Cape Cod recreational anglers are allowed up to 2 cod per person (24-inch minimum) and 75 pounds per boat. This applies only to Massachusetts state waters; federal areas of the GOM are off limits to the taking off cod.
If you’d rather drop a jig to something substantially more sporting than cod, then the bluefin blitz is for you. Perfect-sized pelagics in the 50-inch range, some of which are in huge schools, are tearing the sea up between Cape Cod Bay and the Isle of Shoals. Start your search by the BE Buoy, the Whiting Grounds or Fishing Ledge. Vertical jigging, especially when employing Butterfly Jigs, has been especially good.
Greater Boston
Stripers can still be found in the harbor, it’s just that the torrent is now a trickle and there are few that are watching it drip. Mackerel are still present, but live-lining them now does not draw an immediate response like it did a few weeks back. Toss a few up against the riprap of Graves Light, Deer Island Light or Nixes Mate and see what you can stir up. Try trolling a live mackerel by Boston Light, Faun Bar and Deer Island Rip. Keep your eyes on your fish finder and be prepared to drop a jig down to deep-staging fish. A tube and worm in the inner harbor from below the Tobin Bridge up toward the Alford Street Bridge is a good bet for a bass or two. The pier pros are catching smelt, stripers and blues from Nut Island and Castle Island. A reader of the forecast wrote that he has been getting cod come dark from Castle Island. While it’s been years since I did this, I used to have memorable fall/early winter cod outings from Castle Island Pier and the best fishing was always at night.
North Shore
Last Saturday my buddy, Dave Flaherty from Nahant, took a 28” and slightly smaller striper from the shoreline suds and also had a big mackerel smack his SP minnow. The light bulb went off so the very next day he took a Sabiki rig and had a hard time keeping the macks and pollock off his line. Some of the pollock were pugnacious 14” fish! Dave live-lined mackerel for over an hour and did not get as much as a sniff from a striper. Welcome to late October!
I fear the worst when I call Surfland this time of the year… but the gloom will have to wait for another week, because they’re still catching 20-pound stripers up there. Kay Moulton told me that John Noonan tallied a 20-pound, 8-ounce bass on an eel from Cranes Beach. John wanted to see if he could turn the same trick off Plum Island and he got a keeper striper for his efforts. The fish had squid and mackerel in their bellies. The few that forge the sands of the Parker Wildlife Reserve are finding fish with bait.
Nat Moody of First Light Anglers commented about all the school tuna that have appeared between CCB and Ipswich Bay. Mums been the word on stripers, but they have been finding the biggest mackerel I’ve ever heard of off Halibut Point in Rockport – bonito-sized 24-inch fish! The First Light Anglers folks are beginning to see a return on their investment of brook and brown trout in the Parker and Mill rivers. Brookies have been returning from the sea and are showing impressive growth rates: 10-inch stockies have become 16-inch “sea-runs.” Another stocking is planned this weekend; drop by the shop if you want to assist in any way in this fine effort.
New Hampshire and Southern Maine
According to Saco Bay Tackle a handful of boats are still plying the offshore waters in search of giant bluefin. The extent of the bite is hard to evaluate due to lack of boats, but the few that are still working the regular haunts like Tantas, the Fingers, Old Scantum and other typical hotspots are sharing reports of busting fish. Many short fish are mixed in with the occasional giants. Most of the GBFT action appears to be moving outside and down onto Stellwagen. Expect boats sailing from Portsmouth down through Green Harbor and out to Chatham to have best shots in the next few weeks. Last year giants were caught as late as November 10 on the nearshore humps outside Kennebunkport and Cape Porpoise. Don’t put your 130’s away yet!
Cod fishing has slowed considerably on the offshore grounds and steady reports of haddock have provided a ray of hope for future seasons.
A few stripers, mostly big ones at that, are lingering along the southern beaches. Try pitching a rigged Slug-Go to these big fish, or live-line a mackerel or pollock. All these offerings have been producing for those hardy enough to brave the cool conditions of the last few days. Parson’s Beach and the areas around the Kittery Shipyard have been steady producers recently.
An interesting option to mention is the beginning of the sea-run brown trout season on the Kennebunk, Ogunquit, and Mousam rivers. Pull out the light spinning rods and fly rods to sample this unique late fall opportunity. Patterns that will produce fish in the 10-to 16-inch size range include pheasant tails, scud patterns, and tiny sand eel imitations. For spinning options try a brass or copper colored Mepps or similar spinner or a DB Smelt; the same patterns that Sebago fishermen are currently using to catch good numbers of near surface landlocked salmon and deep-lying lake trout (togue). Dylan from Dags suggested that anglers check out the Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website. Now is the time that many of the trout water bodies are stocked and few fish them. The fisheries folks are timely at updating their stocking reports and usually will list the stockings within a day or two of a water body being stocked. This is a great time to refine your fly fishing form as the fish are easy to spot on the surface and they are not fussy!
Best Bets
If you have a boat at the ready you have to see if you can jig up a few of those school tuna that are screaming through Stellwagen, Cape Cod Bay and Ipswich Bay. Shore slingers should see if they can intercept those schools of stripers on the South Shore that just may be in Plymouth Bay by now. Kick it to the piers if you’re a shore guy in the Boston area as Nut Island and Castle Island piers have been giving up smelt, stripers and bluefish. Eels at night are you best bet for a North Shore 20-pounder. And if over-the-border is more your turf, stripers are still feeding off the beaches of southern Maine.
This is the same report as last week. Is there an error on the site or is that it?
Um… Ron, I think you published last weeks report again by mistake.