Striper Blitzes Erupt
Biggest Bass Still North of Boston

It may seem a few months early to be looking for tidings of good joy from the North, but rest assured Blitzen…I mean, blitzes are on the way. The crags of Cape Ann lit up just Wednesday morning with an eyewitness report of about a dozen anglers battling cows in the 40-pound bracket! The bite was still good Thursday morning; in fact a couple nuns even got into the act (no kidding!) courtesy of angler Robbie Roberts, who handed off his rod to a couple of curious sisters who promptly duked it out with large linesiders all the while shorn in full religious regalia. What I wouldn’t have given to have snapped that photo!

South Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report
Pete from Belsan’s sounded a little desperate in Scituate when we spoke, as he implored me to give him good news from up north. Suffice to say Pete’s now rounding up the cow cavalry after I gave him the highlights. Meanwhile schoolies abound in the North and South rivers as they binge on herring fry, silversides and peanut bunker. The better bass are being taken by oft-solo surfcasters working eels in the still of the night from Cedar Point, Peggotty Beach, Minot and the Glades. Smelt fishing remains strong throughout Scituate Harbor; odds are if you frequent a float at night and equip yourself with a Sabiki rig/grass shrimp terminal rig, you will catch smelt.

There’s some enlightening news from the cod front for once. Lobster fishermen have been finding cod in their pots and anglers have taken notice. The 224 gram black/gold/red Butterfly Jig has been hot for anglers who have even achieved limits from Stellwagen Ledge, Stone Ledge and the “21 Can”.

Bob Pronk of Green Harbor told me that there’s a decent tuna bite of school-sized fish from the Southwest Corner of the bank out to Peaked Hill Bar; the fish are falling for live whiting and Bill Hurley, Shankas and RonZ offerings. There have been some pogy schools in Green Harbor, and with them bass and blues. As is often the case, find the bait you’ll find the bass and blues.

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report
Those lollygagging pogies of yesterday that looked as if they were on vacation are under attack. Whether in Hull Harbor, Marina Bay, Winthrop Harbor or Lynn Harbor, a snagged pogy is as close to a sure bite as there could ever be. Joe Holey Sr. and Joe Holey Jr. have been burning the petrol in dad’s Parker center console while chasing cows between Winthrop and Lynn and have fish up to 38 pounds to show for it. Come dark, stripers will be stripers and will head upstream into estuaries and embayments where they can be intercepted by a live eel. Sling serpents by World’s End, the mouth of the Neponset River, the Amelia Earhart Dam, Constitution Beach, as well as Pico Beach, Corinha Beach and on an outgoing tide cast in the direction of Snake Island from Coughlin Park in Winthrop.

Rick from Fore River told me that his shop was brimming over the weekend with grass shrimp but there were few takers. This is a shame because the smelt bite is starting to take off from Nut Island, the piers of Hull, Hewitts Cove and Winthrop Public Pier. Rick is the last shop owner standing who labors in the mud to catch this prized smelt bite and he’s looking for customers to show him a little love for his hard work.

North Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report
Now is not the time to curtail your fishing urge. Exhibit one just could be Pete from Fin and Feather in Essex, who has been pounding the rocky promontories of Rockport and Gloucester for weeks waiting for that season-defining blitz. On Wednesday he decided to sleep in; ironically after he got “the word,” sleep would be in short supply that night. To make matters worse, Pete has been quietly building some of the sweetest pencil poppers you’ve ever seen and they have been getting quite the following among the surf rats in these parts. As if the news that he missed the massacre wasn’t bad enough, when he asked what the bite was on, he was told by one successful angler, “your pencil poppers” – ouch! The impetus is peanut bunker and the question becomes where the bedlam will strike next. It could be Singing Beach in Manchester, Black Rock in Beverly, Salem Neck or just maybe Chandler Hovey Park in Marblehead. You’ll never know if you’re not out there casting.

There isn’t much good news from Newburyport as Kay from Surfland told me that for the most part the stripers up there are small and they are sporadic. Kay was actually more interested in what had been going on in Cape Ann – little wonder in that. However, if she sees what her counterparts are experiencing north of the border, she may want to reconsider.

New Hampshire and Southern Maine Fishing Report
According to Chad from Dover Marine the biggest bass of the year have been tearing up the New Hampshire coast. Bruiser fish up to 46 inches have been pounding mackerel off the sands of Rye Beach, York Beach and Kennebunk Beach. The surf set is perfecting the “Route One Crawl” as they cruise the coast, stopping at good sight lines and scanning the distance for feeding fish/diving birds. Boaters are catching macks by the Isle of Shoals and trolling them along the coastline where they are finding these big bass. A good substitute is the ubiquitous pollock which are sometimes easier to find then mackerel and especially plentiful near rockpiles. While Great Bay has been quiet the mouth of the Piscataqua remains one of the best bets, especially for live bait. The tuna take has been terrific for bluefin between the upper-70-inch range and the mid-90s by the Isle of Shoals, and the fish are being caught on whiting, mackerel and herring.

Peter from Saco Bay Tackle Company told me that while the blues have departed, baitfish such as mackerel and herring have come storming back and this in turn has kept the stripers sated in the Saco area. And some of the fish are monster 50” plus cows! Give it a go by The Graveyard at Higgins Beach with chunk bait and Arkansas Shiner Fin-S-Fish. Schoolies can be found in the Saco River. Bluefin tuna are back with a good sized school just south of Wells. Pete heard from Tim Tower of the Bunny Clarke that the haddock bite was pretty hot at Jeffrey’s and there’s also good pollock at Platt’s. There have been a number of nice mako sharks taken within 10-miles of the shoreline, a live mackerel or whiting might catch you a toothy at West Cod Ledge or Pollock Nubble.

Fishing Forecast
Some of the best bass fishing of the year is taking place right now between the North Shore and Southern Maine. It’s a safe bet if you keep on the move and put in the time, you’ll find fish in the foreseeable future. If you’re near a beach or rocky stretch off Cape Ann, look and listen for diving birds– odds are that they’ll belie peanut bunker, bass and blues. Stock up with pencil poppers, Kastmasters and swim shads.

In New Hampshire, boaters should load up on mackerel and pollock at the Isle of Shoals and troll them at the mouth of the Piscataqua River and wherever there is structure among the beaches. Higgins Beach in Maine has been hot and the catching is good at Kennebunk.

Mid-week blitzes along the beaches of Rockport and Gloucester resulted in mid-40-inch stripers and big blues as well. Some of those fish may have made it to Salem or Marblehead by now.

In Boston Harbor, it all comes down to finding the pogies and you’ll find the fish; look for both at Hull, Winthrop and Lynn. While things are relatively quiet on the South Shore, you could occupy yourself with the resurgent cod bite by Stone Ledge, but keep one eye out for those stripers, sooner or later the early gift from the North has to come through!