Striped Bass Still Biting

Time for Trout

The coupling was as odd as Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, but somehow it worked. On Wednesday morning, long before most awoke, lying against the fender of my truck was my new luminous candy apple red St. Croix Avid 10-footer—and within inches was an equally bright ice scraper. The latter would be performing yeoman duties on the first frost of the year, while the former would soon be putting a hurt on bass that seem bent on staying put in spite of the calendar.

Ordinarily the “run” lives up to its name in that fish found today are often gone by the time the “you should’ve been here last tide” crowd views the text and arrives to take that first cast. But with water temperatures north of the mid-50s as far “down” as Southern Maine combined with bays full of bait, striped bass seem content to stay put. What is lacking is reports from anglers, with the vast majority having pulled their boats and stowed their gear. But the pain of scraping that windshield is a lot less sharp when it’s a precursor to putting a bend in that nearby surf stick.

Freshwater Fishing Report

Believe it or not, there is life beyond the salt. Almost sheepishly I contacted acquaintances who own shops that cater to some of the finer freshwater sport that we have in the Bay State, and from all accounts the fishing is fine. When I asked about the much ballyhooed blue-ribbon trout water in the Quabbin area, the West Branch of the Swift River, Rod from Flagg’s in Orange told me that there was no shortage of weary trout or fishermen pummeling the pools there. For a break and a less harried riparian rainbow and brown trout experience, Rod suggests the Millers River, which, while lacking the patrician reputation of the Swift, boasts holdover brown trout that can grow quite large. Best bets on the Millers are by the Starett Factory Dam, Wendell Depot and drive-by spots in Orange. For flies that would work, Rodney recommends Blue Wing Olives in size 18 along with Wooly Buggers.

Recent stockings of trout in Lake Mattawa and Clubhouse Pond have left these places teeming with trout. When asked for a Quabbin recap, Rod recalled a poor season for salmon. This is directly attributable to the lack of rainbow smelt this past year. Quabbin had been on a roll for years with each season seeing an uptick in smelt numbers and corresponding increase in the size of salmon; it might be just the cyclical nature of baitfish, but some are leaning toward an overabundance of lake trout in Quabbin as the culprit. The good news is that it was a fantastic year for black bass with both big fish and numbers of smallmouth bass being the norm.

Running counter to the recent findings in Quabbin is Wachusett Reservoir. The past couple of years have seen a surge in smelt numbers and as a result an increase in size and numbers of landlocked salmon. It is hoped that the improved forage base will result in another strong spawning run for the salmon. Landlocks are staging throughout the Thomas Basin, Quinapoxet River and Stillwater Basin and with the predicted heavy rainfall more should be lured upstream. If you are fortunate enough to catch Salmo sebago, appreciate this self-sustaining native New Englander and realize that a few years ago, your good fortune would have been unlikely, so consider releasing it to spawn.  Maybe your karma next season will be a 5-pound silver leaper. Expect the heavy rain to also lure in lakers en masse to the Route 110, West Boylston stretch where the outflow of water from the tributaries will prove irresistible.

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Dave from TFO in Plymouth told me that angling and surface activity have greatly diminished, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t catch fish. Dave has still been catching on his favorite fish-catchers, Krocodiles and Orcas, off Long Beach. Warrens Cove with its ample cover and structure is a good place to plug or drag a tube-and-worm. Duxbury Beach has been getting a lot of buzz because of photos of big bass that have been circulating throughout the blogosphere, but these are hard-won catches that only come to those who put in the time. A big chunk of fresh bait doesn’t hurt either. Big bait options begin with pogies, but there are often hickory shad in Duxbury Bay, which is excellent big bass bait. In fact, my friend Captain Jason Colby was just telling me of a 52-pounder that was taken in Westport on a live shad. These fish will hit an oversized Sabiki rig or small spoon; you could conceivably jig some off Powder Point Bridge and chunk them up off the beach. Boat guys should consider mackerel off The Gurnet as well as hickory shad; live-lining these around High Pine Ledge just might pay off. Tuna of varied sizes are still being taken off the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen with live whiting, mackerel and squid bars.

Pete from Belsan’s Bait in Scituate said that cod are still being caught about 6 miles from shore among Flat Ledge, Stone Ledge and Collamore Ledge. The ones talking about what they are catching are reporting the ubiquitous 16-inch schoolie to be the predominant quarry, but Pete keeps selling eels for guys targeting the North River, the Glades, Egypt Beach and Cedar Point—and nary is a word being said by this reticent bunch.

 

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Nightwalkers such as Rick Holbrook and Dave Flaherty continue to catch stripers on every outing while tossing eels. Often, you can almost draw an upstream trajectory of a hot beach bite to an estuary, marsh or river, and many of those same fish will cruise into the skinny water come dark looking for serpents among other prey. The more sophisticated senses of a striped bass give it a nighttime edge on the eel, and I suspect that often the eel is not even aware of imminent death until it is too late. At low tides you’ll do best if you know the bottom and allow the current to drop the eel into depressions, or you feather your presentation so that it plops right behind an obstruction such as a bridge pilling. The bass will be looking to ambush among these current breaks.

During higher water, especially close to slack, the predators roam more, senses heightened as they “feel” for prey. Odds are if there are striped bass around in mid-October they will be gluttons, and an eel dropped anywhere in their domain will be set upon. Again, that is during high, quiet water; when the current is moving or water is shallow, those same fish will seek the sanctuary of structure.

Rick Holbrook from Fore River is still getting solid striper accounts from the river systems such as the Weir, Fore, Town, Back and Neponset. And the Nut Island regulars are still picking off black sea bass! This has been some year for these fish, and I can only imagine what next season will bring. Rick’s Cape-bound efforts to acquire grass shrimp have been fruitful as he came back to Quincy with a 5-gallon bucket full recently. The timing here is good since the bite is on from Hull, through Hingham, into Charlestown and out to Winthrop and Revere. Fresh from wrapping up the center console in a cocoon of white, Rick Paone of Medford believes he has a panacea for striper withdrawal and it begins with a smelt on the line and ends with them fried up on a plate. Look for smelt goodies right now off the Winthrop Public Pier and among any of the yacht clubs you have access to. For those looking for big bass bait, there are foot-long sea herring milling around.

I just got a fish-flash on Thursday afternoon of a big Boston Harbor bite that took place Wednesday evening with a slug of 20-pound plus fish! The fish were numerous and voracious and pounding wooden plugs—it seems as if they were migrants that just came into the harbor from up north. If you’ve given up on the Hub, then you should reconsider!

 

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Like many father and son fishing relationships, Joe Holey Senior and Junior revel in the camaraderie almost as much as the catching, but there’s this little thing about just who can catch the biggest cow of the season that adds a little edge to their relations. Dad had bragging rights for a couple of weeks with a 38-pounder that scoffed down a pogy in Winthrop (the picture was featured in the forecast a few weeks back), but Junior’s 42 on Saturday trumped the patriarch soundly. And to make matters worse (or better if you’re Joe Jr.) it was taken from the suds of Lynn. Two days later Joe Jr. again took a nice striper, this one a 32 from the same stretch. A resolute Joe Holey Sr. was last seen jigging up mackerel by the red nun off Cunner’s Ledge in Nahant, determined to recapture glory.

I was fortunate enough to fish with Joe Jr. on Wednesday morning and while Joe brought his lucky plugs—white stubby Tsunami Timber Series pencils—I brought mung and high surf. The good news is that we caught fish, but for the record we are ignoring questions on size. Joe told me that the teardrop-shaped Tsunami pencil has been his consistent cow killer this fall and he recently picked a few up in the bargain bin at Dick’s for under 10 bucks! While they don’t get much fanfare, the Tsunami Timber Series lures catch fish. I recall my friend Steve Pappows from Cape Ann who took one of his best bass this year on a Timber Series round-nose swimmer and he has a steadily-fished version that has survived the unforgiving rocky surf for two years now and is still fine! And then there’s Captain Colby, whose Little Sister Charters is operating out of Westport. He took his personal best bass of the season on the Timber Series Danny. And best of all, I have word that these plugs are in end-of-season discount bins from Dick’s to Kittery Trading Post now!

Speaking of Steve Pappows, my friend told me that he and his son Mike have been picking up small bass off Black Beach and White Beach in Magnolia. Steve makes a habit of reminding his son that any striper in mid-October is worth appreciating. He also heard that things “went off” at Devereaux Beach in Marblehead on Wednesday. Kay from Surfland said that the few that are traipsing the shoreline of Parker River Wildlife Reservation are finding fish on plugs as well as bait. The best bet is parking lot 6.

 

New Hampshire and Southern Maine Fishing Report

Jamie from Dover Marine told me that there is nary a whisper among the striper ranks in the Granite State, but the groundfishing is good at Old Scantum and Jeffreys Ledge. Haddock and sea pollock are the common catch, and for the former opt for purple teasers. occasionally let the whole rig lie still on the bottom—haddock are inclined to gulp a teaser as it sits there. Jamie could not comment on the tuna fishing since he was not able to get a live mackerel or whiting past the makos, which are lurking where the groundfishining guys are catching haddock and pollock.

Ken from Saco Bay Tackle Company is convinced that the 55-degree water temperatures and the plethora of prey will keep the stripers in residence until November! Some are catching schoolies in the Saco River on slim-profiled wares while chunkers do well on bigger fish from the beaches of Southern Maine. “Drive-by casters” look for birds and then launch poppers, swim shads and tin in the direction of the melee and hook up. Pick your beach and pick your persuasion, just don’t stop fishing.

 

Fishing Forecast

For a respite from the salt, consider brown trout on the fly from Millers River. Or lure in a laker from Wachusett Reservoir, recent rains should turn these fish on.

On the South Shore, spike a surf rod with cut bait at Ellisville Harbor, White Horse Beach, Long Beach or Duxbury—big bass are still out there. The smelt bite is solid off the piers of Hull, Hingham Harbor, and throughout the marinas and piers of Boston Harbor and Winthrop. A timely influx of stripers into Boston Harbor should put surfcasters and boaters on alert. The beaches of Lynn as well as Lynn Harbor have consistently been good with the occasional cow rewarding the caster.

On the North Shore, some are downsizing expectations and happy to pick up schoolies and small keepers from beaches of Magnolia and Newburyport. But as far north as Maine, the stripers show no signs of quit according to Ken from Saco Bay. He’s banking on patrons beaching bass well into next month.