Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 12-15-2011

The message has been the same, even though the medium has run the gamut from text-messaging to phone calls to banter at Christmas parties; the “runny-nose brigade” is beginning to talk about skim ice and frozen puddles. In spite of the occasional 50-degree temperature bump and rain the reality is that sustained windless, sub-freezing nights should build black ice among sheltered water bodies.  And for hardwater junkies, that’s the ultimate holiday high-five!

In the meantime there are other options. Last weekend at a Christmas fete hosted by my friend Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics, I was “yakking” it up with Jeff “The Riddler” Lopez, who was the very first author of On The Water’s Kayak Corner and has arguably influenced more Greater Boston anglers to take up the ‘yak then anyone. I couldn’t help but notice that Jeff was a bit distracted and kind of tense and I just had to ask, “What’s the matter Jeff, the holiday shopping getting to you?” Jeff dismissed that notion but did comment, “I should be out there – I just know they’re biting.”

The “they” he was referring to were stripers, and considering the reality of the calendar and the fact that more than a few patrons of JJ Grimsby’s were donning scarves and gloves, some might think Jeff Lopez’s comments strange, but striped bass do holdover all winter long in the Bay State. Places where I have had hot action on cold water bass are the Saugus River, the Mystic River, the Charles River and (before the juice was turned off) the discharge at the site of the old Edison Plant by the Reserve Channel. Kay Moulton from Surfland has told me of a few hardcore fishermen that catch holdover striped bass in the Merrimack River, especially near the effluence where the Concord River joins the Merrimack. Who knows where else these fish frequent?

Among the revelers at the party was Captain Russ Burgess, who is a senior member of the nifty-fifty-pound striped bass club if there ever was one. Russ told me that in the past he has trolled up stripers all winter long up to 20 pounds in the shadows of the Tobin Bridge! The preferred lure was a tube and worm. In fact if there is one type of bait that increases your chances of catching an off-season striper, it is a seaworm. Yeah, they’re tough to get at this time of the year, but if you ask your local bait shop he or she just might have a source. You’ll probably have to buy a flat to make it cost-effective for the shop owner/supplier to provide them, but a mid-December striper should make it worth the pittance.

We used to lightly hook a seaworm through the mouth and float it into current under a float. Try as we may, we could not find a suitable artificial; although ersatz worms such as Berkley Power worms would account for some fish, a seaworm at the end of the hook mattered tremendously.

For more filler as to this off-season fishery, I asked Dave Panarello who along with his buddy, Karl Vinning, chases cows all winter long provided that there is open water. These guys use a tin jon boat and trolling motor, as it is essential to skirt the skinny water and maneuver around pilings where the holdover linesiders lurk. Stealth matters, and that’s why a battery-powered trolling motor is important. These guys hit bridges, dam locks, spillway rip-raps and troll a wine-red 14-inch tube that is custom made for them by Kay from Surfland. No leadcore line is needed, the water is generally 10 feet or less, and simple monofilament will work nicely. Some of the rivers they fish still hold river herring and there are times a slim-profiled soft plastic, Dave and Karl’s favorite is a Zoom Fluke, will work well when the bass are binging on herring fry. In a pinch, night crawlers can be substituted for seaworms and they will catch stripers although at a diminished rate than seaworms.

When I asked Dave for a description of these bass, he said they were fat, healthy, and colorful and some were as big as 37 inches! A tip that I recommend is to fish as the barometric pressure is dropping, Thames River striper sharpies swear by this.

Which takes me back to Jeff Lopez, who commented that he was sure that another hard-core kayaker was having his way with “his stripers” while he was socializing. Not surprisingly the other angler was also a member of the On The Water community, Eric “Slappy” Harrison, who is a contributor of the magazine.  I could not escape images of the following night with the two of them locked in a friendly, nocturnal duel as they jigged up Hub striped bass in December!

Elsewhere, the smelt bite remains a solid one, especially from Nut Island in Quincy (by night) and the Charlestown Marina (by day). Although I did receive a hot tip from Russ Burgess that his fish finder at his slip in Marina Bay has been lighting up, which prompted me to ask, “Smelt?” To which he answered, “Maybe, but there are also some considerably bigger marks under the smelt” Hmmm…holdover stripers? I certainly intend on finding out, stay tuned!

Best Bets

In spite of the season, stripers lurk among the Charles, Mystic, Saugus and Merrimack rivers and I’m sure other locations. Your odds are best if you offer a lively seaworm to these fish and plan your expedition during an impending low pressure front. Sweet-eating smelt are strong off Nut Island Pier and the Charlestown Marina. If you’re jigging up smelt from Marina Bay, bring along a sturdier rod and try live-lining the smelt for awhile, you may stir up a few of your own holdover stripers.