Fall Run Magic Begins
If you were to find the proverbial magic lantern washed up on a beach, you’d probably wish for feeding fish, sparse crowds and comfortable conditions with significantly less sweat and bugs then a few weeks ago. Well, someone owes that genie a big thank-you, and if she’s inclined to doll out one more favor, ask for a bite into November.
South Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report
Anglers looking to step it up from good fish to great ones have switched their game to a nighttime pursuit and eels have been the ticket to bigger bass. Pete of Belsans Bait in Scituate told me that these cow-chasers are hitting the Cliffs of Scituate and getting bigger bass. Fourth Cliff is worth a try as is the minor jetty by Cedar Point. Other best bets are Peggotty Beach, Egypt Beach and that season long standby, The Glades.
Most mornings still feature bluefish and bass bedlam as these fish pound peanut bunker and herring. Surprisingly even with the blues around there has been an influx of tinker mackerel. Often the macks will prey on the peanuts and become the favored forage of stripers. Take along some blue or green swimmers to toss into the mackerel melee should you be lucky enough to encounter it.
Bob from Green Harbor Bait and Tackle reported good things about Duxbury when we spoke. Both boaters trolling the tube-and-worm and shore casters chunking have been hauling in bass and blues from High Pine Ledge as well as on the inside of the bay. If nothing’s doing there, take a cruise throughout Plymouth; there have been some good surface feeds there as well. It has been productive from Berks Beach to the jetty at the mouth of Green Harbor with the better bass falling come dark for guys tossing soft-plastic baits and eels. If you’ve got bluefin on the brain, there has been a real mixture of tuna sizes from the Southwest Corner to Fisherman’s Ledge and around to the backside of the Cape, with fish ranging from 27 inches to giant status. Trolling squid bars will catch all sizes, with a live bluefish getting the nod for a giant.
Boston Harbor Fishing Report
Laurel from Hull Bait and Tackle told me that she has had a perfect pick of pogies available in the shop but few patrons taking advantage of them. The shame is that the bite is on for the shore slinger from Point Allerton through Nantasket Beach to Gunrock Beach. With the swells subsiding conditions should be comfortable and the bass will be in there groveling among the broken clam and crustacean shells on the bottom and a fresh piece of cut bait will be too much for them to pass up.
Lisa from Fore River B&T said that it is all about the pogy with schools held up off Hull, in the Fore River, Town River, Marina Bay and Wollaston Beach. But stripers and blues are sparse the closer one gets to the coast, if you find the pogies with not much on them, load up the livewell and scout about for additional schools; your chances of finding feeding fish in open water are better. Deer Island has been getting an awful lot of linesider love from surf fishermen at dark on an outgoing tide. Eels and big wooden plugs are two of the better options here. Course the 2.6 mile perimeter on a bike looking and “sniffing” for fishy signs, and you’ll fare better than the sit-and-soak set.
There are pogies in Winthrop Harbor and it is a good bet that this place is ready to go off. Shore guys, cruise the shoreline between Constitution Beach the Fishermen’s Bend and out to the Winthrop Public Launch. The few that are fishing for smelt are already picking them up off the Winthrop Public Pier. This looks like it is going to be a banner year after what was last year a stellar season for smelt, in fact, grass shrimp headquarters – Fore River B&T – is already getting besieged with requests for the live version of this smelt candy.
North Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report
Lynn Harbor, Salem Harbor and Beverly Harbor has pogies in both peanut and adult versions and the bass have taken notice. Pack swim shads and a snag hook for best success. Striped bass are notoriously difficult to fool with an artificial during the day when they are feeding on large pogies. I believe it’s a simple case that so few lures have the profile of a big pogy; the most effective lure I’ve ever found under these conditions is the 7¼-inch floating Sebile Stick Shadd. Smudge some BioEdge bunker wand over the hooks for added appeal; a windfall of this attractant is that it also acts as a rust inhibitor for the hooks. Hold your rod high, snap it and let the lure dart out to one side under slack line and then quickly repeat the process. If this lure doesn’t mimic a pogy under duress, I don’t know what does – and the bass seem to agree.
Steve Pappows and other Cape Ann cow chasers were into some nice bass just before the swells of Leslie put a damper on the linesider love, but once the rollers subside the bite should be back. The hot ticket has been a sweet 1 ½-ounce pencil popper that Jimmy of Fin and Feather in Essex has been turning when he’s not testing them out among the wash. In subsequent casts, Steve took fish up to 38 pounds on it. When asked for a tip on the proper way to work a pencil among the suds, Steve recommended a slower pace then the typical “canal wiggle” that most employ; often it is the brief pause between snaps that makes the bass go bonkers.
Keep an eye on Niles Beach if the surf is still rough, and when it lays down check out Good Harbor, Cape Hedge, Wingaersheek and Coffin’s. A full tank of gas, binoculars and some time along Rtes. 127 and 127A wouldn’t hurt. Kay from Surfland said that Newburyport has received and infusion of mackerel! With that the bite has picked up from the mouth of the Merrimack to Plum Island Sound. Daiwa’s SP Minnow along with Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows are good choices when the bass are eyeing mackerel. Probably the best bet on Plum Island is the Parker River Wildlife Reservation where sandworm soakers are consistently catching stripers.
New Hampshire and Southern Maine Fishing Report
As September advances, Great Bay cools and becomes reloaded with fishy action. Now is a great time to cruise along the confluences where the Essex, Oyster and Lamprey rivers join up with the bay and enjoy nice topwater action as chopper blues and schoolie bass chase silversides, herring fry and possibly peanut bunker. Jason of Suds ‘N Soda told me that you won’t find much competition as a lot of anglers tend to give up the game in mid-September. There are adult pogies around with some signals that they may be about to leave as they gather between the mouth of the Pisacataqua River and the Isle of Shoals. Bass and blues should be with the baitfish, but if not, snag and chunk or drift live pogies throughout the Piscataqua River focusing on depth breaks and bridge abutments and pilings. All has been quiet for the surf crowd in the Granite State, but if the bass and bait throw a blitz and you’re not out there, you’ll never know!
Ken’s account from Saco was just the thing to allay any fears that the bite is withering in Southern Maine. In fact some of the beaches have been boiling with feeding fish. Higgins Beach has been hot as has been Ferry Beach as well as the beach side of Camp Ellis. I would still pay attention to the Saco River side of Camp Ellis as river herring fry are bound to be tumbling out of their nursery. Favored baits have been clams in the surf as well as chunk mackerel and sandworms. Boaters are doing well just offshore with the tube-and-worm. Groundfishing is good for cod and big pollock from Tantas, Jeffreys and Platts with Oozzie jigs soaked in BioEdge being the go-to lure. And there are some very willing giant tuna and thresher sharks in the same locations if you’ve got the gear and the nerve.
Fishing Forecast
South Shore surface spectacles continue to make September the month we all long for. Early risers should find no shortage of willing bass and blues throughout Plymouth, Duxbury, Scituate and Cohasset. Hit those same locations with live eels come dark and chances are you’ll have an uptick in the size of the fish. If the Hub is closer to home, then Hull has been hot, especially if you can find a school of pogies and live-line these baits or toss Stick Shadds into the mix. As the wrath of Leslie wanes, North Shore surf sharpies are expecting a topwater bass bite among the crags and the beaches from Gloucester to Plum Island. In the Granite State Great Bay is good for small fish, but it’s all about the pogy among the Piscataqua River if you’re aiming large. And if Maine is any indication of the longevity of the season, then it certainly has legs as bass are happily taking bait from Higgins, Old Orchard and Ferry beaches.