Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 4-26-2012

The striper scuttlebutt is segueing from talk of schoolies to keepers – a phenomenon if there ever was one, considering the calendar. But not all remarkable catches that can be kept are being kept. There are photos, with the name of the angler, of a humongous laker in B&A Bait and Tackle Shop in West Boylston that has many whistling and commenting, “Yup…that was the new state record.” But, the sportsman released the massive forktail! Flounder fishing continues to improve and there is even an improved inshore cod fishery.

Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

There seems to be a new breed of fisherman out there who couldn’t care less for the accolades that come with parading around a true trophy fish and are more concerned with releasing it to fight another day. On the heels of last week’s “pig” 7-1 smallie that was caught and released at the Quabbin, last Wednesday a monster lake trout that taped out at 41 inches and looked like it hadn’t missed too many meals was caught on a Kastmaster from Wachusett Reservoir. Mark Honeramp made the honorable gesture of photographing this fish-of-a-lifetime and then let it swim away – hooray! The current record held by Mike Sienkiewicz of Worcester is 24 pounds and the fish taped out at 40 ½ inches – and while broad shouldered it had a rather slack belly. Mark Honeramp’s fish reportedly was much paunchier. See the photos at B&A and you be the judge!  Ed Parmeter and Larry Kuettner have been successfully targeting the resurgent salmon population in the ‘Chu and seeking shorelines with the wind to their backs in order to drift shiners. These guys rig bobbers so that the line will freely slide and the shiners will settle deeply in the water column. This method sounds haphazard, but in the crystal clear waters of Wachusett, the sharp-eyed nomadic salmon will spot that shiner from a considerable distance.

The Gate 8 side of Quabbin seems to be out-fishing the eastern side for salmonids as the principle forage – rainbow smelt – for some odd reason appear to be more abundant near the former. This scenario has some scratching their heads but the fish from Areas 2 and 3 are appearing gaunt and few smelt have been seen. It is a complete contrast to recent years but Area 1 seems to be making up for it. The smallmouth bass fishing is super regardless where you wet a line as the fish are beginning to bed.

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

According to Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate, stripers are present in force in the North River with the best fishing occurring from Mary’s Boat Livery up to the Union Street Bridge. The hot lure has been the 6 ¼” Ghostescent Sebile Stick Shadd suspending model. Another effective bait has been the glow and pink 6 ¼” Shankas. There’s been some beach blitzing as well with the last reports coming from Egypt Beach. A few flounder are turning up in Scituate Harbor and I would not be surprised if they’re getting active off Priscilla Beach and Cohasset Harbor as well. Not all prized “shad” are made by Sebile. Nice hen-sized American shad up to 4 ½ pounds are clobbering darts throughout the North River and up to the Indian Head River. The magic hour is just before dusk when these skinny-water fish swap stealth for the feedbag.

Bob from Green Harbor B&T told me that the inshore cod fishing has been pretty solid off The Gurnet and Farnham Bell. There aren’t a lot of fish there but most trips yield keeper cod and a lot of fun. For decidedly flatter fish soak some seaworms in Green Harbor, the last few years have been very productive for flounder here and the bite should flip any day. Mackerel are as close as the first green buoy outside of Green Harbor, toss them up against the jetties at the mouth of the harbor and see if you can stir up a few stripers.

Boston Harbor Fishing Report

Maria from Fore River B&T in Quincy told me of mid-30-inch stripers that are chasing river herring in the Weymouth Back River. A patron of the shop intercepted a 36-incher there with chunk mackerel. Captain Lou Abate of Good Times Charters has been seeing mackerel by his boat slip at the Charlestown Marina. It’s doubtless that some of the best bass in Boston Harbor are prowling right now by the Charles River locks in search of river herring. A live mackerel thrown in their midst would be a hard snack to pass up.

Both the freshwater and saltwater side of the Amelia Earhart Dam is producing stripers up to 32 inches long. Two of the better anglers who ply this area even in the dead of winter, Dave Panarello and Carl Vinning, prefer the tube and worm over all else. In the “dirty water” of the freshwater side the black, which contrasts with the sky, works best. However on a sunny day on the ocean side, translucent red is more effective maybe because it reflects the sun’s rays and gets noticed.

Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics is reporting flounder on the Deer Island Flats and Governor’s Flats. Cod are cruising among the North and South Channels as well as President Roads. Mike Scallia, who is the first mate of Captain Joe D’Orsi’s Fish Tales, told me that when cruising back to port from deep water they are finding a few cod just off Deer Island. It might be prime time for cod from shore from Castle Island about now.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Noel from Bridge Street Bait in Salem told me that bass are on the North Shore as well, especially in the Danvers River by the Kernwood Bridge and Kernwood Park. If you want seaworms, this place makes a concerted effort to keep them in stock all season long.

Derek from First Light Anglers in Rowley was full of cheery news from the North Shore with the lead story having to do with large linesiders busting on mackerel just off Plum Island. It seems that a commercial fishing acquaintance of the shop recently saw some big swirls in the middle of a mackerel school. This experienced salt thought it might be seals until he saw big striped bass rushing the bait! Bass are also pushing bait into the Essex, Ipswich and Parker Rivers. Apparently a recent river herring count completed in the Parker revealed more herring than in memory, definitely a good sign. Another good sign in the Parker is the re-appearance of white perch. A fisherman who targets these sweet-eating saltwater panfish tallied 25 the other day. Bait for these fish are mummichogs, earthworms, seaworms and best of all – grass shrimp.

Kay from Surfland also heard of big fish busting bait off the Plum Island Beach front. The fish were on “rain bait” that was almost transparent in color. Kay has also been seeing a lot of younger customers catching sizeable stripers in the Boston area, capturing the catch on their camera and then believing all is well as they released their catch. Hoisting a 20-pound striper by the gill plates and stressing its organs all in the name of a glory shot and without regard for its mortality is reckless. A better bet is to keep it in the water unless you intend on keeping the fish – a fish in its watery realm is a more natural photo anyway and you’ll greatly improve a released fish’s chance of survival. According to Kay, the hot lures in the Hub rivers are the blackback and greenback slow-sinking Sebile Magic Swimmers.

New Hampshire and Downeast Maine Fishing Report

Chad from Dover Marine told me that the increased numbers of river herring are resulting in more experiences with striped bass. The jury is out on whether these fish are holdovers that have become more active with all the prey in their domain or whether they just might be fresh fish. The size of the schoolies is between 12” and 16”, which sounds like the same class of fish that has been blitzing northward from the Cape through much of Massachusetts so this could just be an exceptionally early slug of migrants. Likely places for these linesiders are at the mouths of the tributaries of Great Bay such as the Exeter, Oyster, Lamprey and Cocheco. Chad’s favorite spring striper duper is the Storm Kickin’ Minnow. Macks have been jigged from the 1B Bridge and boaters have been targeting them by the 2KR Bridge. While not yet fantastic, flounder fishing is improving from the harbors of Hampton and Rye.

From Peter of Saco Bay Tackle Company came word that the haddock bite is terrific for anglers baiting their hooks with clams and fishing Jeffrey’s Ledge. Most of these fish are 3-4 pounders that are fun on relatively light gear and scrumptious on the supper plate. In the fresh, Little Ossipee Lake in Waterboro has been hot for quality rainbows early in the morning. Best luck has been on live smelt and DB Smelt spoons trolled about 1.4-1.7 mph. The shoreline from Three Tree Island to Black Cove has been good as of late. Also Norway Lake has been productive for bows and salmon. Trickey Pond and Peabody Lake have given up a few nice fish but you’ll have to work for them. Sebago remains THE place to be in Southern Maine, at least for the next few weeks. Peter has been picking up togue throughout the giant lake. Salmon action has been so-so at the mouth of the Songo river, but you had better get there early and be ready for “combat fishing” with about a hundred “friends.” Don’t discount Thompson Lake, the word is that there’s nice action on salmon and togue and it’s not as busy as Sebago. You can’t beat what’s for dinner – smelt – although elder anglers swear by a Grey Ghost streamer trolled at 4 mph.

Fishing Forecast

Waves of stripers are flooding our coastline and they are flooding our rivers. Schoolies can be found amongst most any river but for larger fish concentrate on rivers with healthy herring runs. Stick to the Town River in Plymouth, the South and North Rivers – some South Shore striper sharpies are boasting about the Sebile Stick Shadds as the go-to lure there. Bass are balling up bait at the Charles River locks as well as the Amelia Earhart Dam. Don’t discount trying the Schraffts Candy Complex piers downstream of the Mystic River, you’ll find fewer crowds and sometimes better action. Farther north, the rivers of the North Shore are fishing well such as the Danvers, Essex and Ipswich, but don’t discount the Plum Island beachfront, especially after recent accounts of big bass action. Great Bay in the Granite State is getting good for stripers among the tributaries but Doweasterners will have to settle awhile longer for haddock on the high seas and sweetwater salmonids in Sebago.