South Shore Lights Up with Bass on Macks

Tautog Rounding Out the Catch in Boston Harbor

Stripers Swarming from North Shore to Maine

With June at our doorstep, it is time to turn on the heat! And I’m not just referring to rising mercury either… tackle testers have been tormenting drags. It’s encouraging also to hear of some pockets of pretty good inshore cod fishing. For groundfishing that really demands your A-game, increasingly anglers are finding themselves tied to what for many is the fish of a lifetime – halibut!

 

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Bob Pronk from Green Harbor Bait and Tackle told me that his area is on fire! Boaters are doing well finding and live-lining mackerel between 50 and 70 feet of water. Shore guys slinging plugs from the Green Harbor jetties and chunking mackerel from the adjacent beach as well as Rexhame Beach are catching stripers up to 25 pounds! Another technique that is scoring slabs is drifting mackerel by the mouth of the South River, where similar-sized stripers are lurking. The same size stripers are the domain of the kayakers in skinny water far up into the North River. One enthusiastic kayak guy showed Bob a water shot of a big bass that teetered half-in and half-out of his boat.

Bluefin tuna have arrived, and charter captain Dom Petrarca reported catching a 74-inch fish this week with a Siren topwater plug and a spinning combo! Cod fishing has definitely improved with some reports of fish finally taking up residence on Stellwagen Bank. A better bite that also includes haddock up to 10 pounds is available for those willing to make the haul east until they find 240-plus feet of water.

While no one is likely to refer to the past weekend as “the Memorial Day Massacre Part 2” (the original bass/blue blitz about 6 years ago was the stuff of legends), fishing was fantastic in the Scituate area, according to Pete from Belsans Bait in Scituate. Minot’s was red hot, and so was the Glades, but don’t bank on past success as this slug of stripers up to 25 pounds is on the move. A scant two miles out, there was a frenzy of birds and bass when a school of 50-inch tuna decided to crash the party. That measurement was strictly an estimate as none of the anglers with bass gear were prepared to handle the hard-charging pelagics. Under all that bait are some interesting groundfish, including 5- to 7-pound cod and even halibut. John Dodge dropped a Norwegian jig under the bedlam hoping to pick off a few keeper cod when he came tight to a 47-inch, 42-pound halibut!

 

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett reminded me that the 15th Annual Boston Harbor Striper Shootout, which is Greater Boston’s longest running tourney, takes place on June 16th, with a pre-fishing fete for all who join the night of the 15th. Far be it for this to be solely a competitive event, $1000.00 will be donated to the Soldiers Home in Chelsea. You can sign up at www.stripershootout.com. Expect quite the crowd around the harbor this weekend and it will serve you well if you shove off at first light. Moreover, winds will be down and the likelihood of finding macks and linesiders love is much better early than later. Macks and bass have been found by Boston Light, outside of Graves Light and by the BG Buoy. Fill up your livewell early with this striper candy and then focus on the bass after. In addition to onsite, look for bass near rockpiles and exposed ledge in the Hull/Quincy area. Brewster Spit, Green, Little Calf and Calf Islands and President Roads. And don’t discount the Weir, Weymouth Back, Weymouth Fore, Town and Neponset Rivers. You may also score some stripers below Rutherford Street and Alford Street Bridges.

Captain Colby and Little Sister Charters, as well as his pal, Captain Roger Brousseau of Midnight Charters, are putting partons into blackbacks but they are finding that they have to work far harder than previous years. When I’ve been aboard the Little Sister I have been floored at the effort the skipper has had to put in to scratch together limits for the crew. We’ve yet to see the bounty and size sufficient enough to practice self-imposed limits like we have in the past when we would release anything less than 16-inch fish. While blackbacks may be a tougher find, blackfish surprises continue to thrill! Not only is Jason finding a few, but Pete Santini told me of a patron who brought a few tog into the shop and didn’t even know what they were! According to this angler the pilings/bridges around Charlestown are loaded with them!

 

North Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem told me that there has been a melee of “micros” by the lead mills in Salem Harbor. Bigger bass are taking sea worms from Red Rock in Lynn and boaters are bagging braggin’ sized bass on live mackerel among the islands and ledges of Salem and Beverly Harbors. The Danvers River continues to be a solid shore spot as well as nice water for kayakers. Favored artificials are the Tactical Anglers Sub-darter and the Daiwa SP Minnow. Squid are spotty among the Salem/Beverly Piers.

Pete from Fin and Feather in Essex said that the striper fishing is sizzling in both the rivers and the ocean front. A new slug of river herring has pulled more bass into the Essex and Little Rivers. Daiwa SP Minnows as well as Backshore Plugs pencils are working really well. The common-sized striper in the rivers is between 30” and 34”. As you would expect bigger bass are out front chasing the mackerel which can be found anywhere between the bell buoy just outside of the Essex River all the way to Halibut Point. When the talk turned to halibut, Pete commented that he is hearing of more catches of these fantastic flatties than in memory.

Kay from Surfland in Newburyport said that there are stripers in the Plum Island area but they are not sitting still. Anglers will make a killing for five minutes and then the school disappears. As usual first light is the magical moment with the bite best at the sandbar in front of the shop and from the Captains Fishing Charter dockage out to the jetties at the mouth of the Merrimack. Ordinarily the outgoing tide fish’s best here but some are finding the flood better! Seaworm soakers are scoring stripers from Sandy Point.

 

New Hampshire and Southern Maine Fishing Report

Jamie from Dover Marine has been hauling cod and haddock from between 170 and 240 feet from Jeffreys Ledge, especially The Curl. Straying from conventional wisdom he has found that the bite is far superior with fresh mackerel chunk or fillets on the hook as opposed to questionable-vintage clams or shrimp. Another option that I have had great luck with is the ubiquitous green crab; cod love them! And both those aforementioned baits are readily accessible, will be fresh on site and fresh bait always outfishes the stale stuff. Stripers seem to be bigger this year in the Granite State according to Jamie with teen-sized fish the norm. Look for your linesiders throughout the Piscataqua River watershed where you should even find their preferred forage – mackerel.

Ken from Saco said that the rivers are swarming with stripers. From schoolies to 40-inch-plus line-stretchers, there are bass for most every taste. Even boaters are advised to stick close to the suds from Camp Ellis to Pine Point. First light is hot, especially outgoing to low tide. Forage consists of herring and mackerel, although the stripers are showing a preference for a fresh sandworm on the hook. Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows and Mag Poppers are the hot plugs at daybreak. “Phenomenal” is the way some are describing the groundfishing at The Fingers in the Gulf Of Maine. Clams remain your best bet in 175 to 200’ of water.

 

Fishing Forecast

A surge of stripers on the South Shore has made this place a best bet for bass. Kaykers should target the upper reaches of the North River, while the beach brigade should chunk mackerel or toss plugs that match macks. Drop a jig below the mackerel schools and you may catch a cod or something that would make a meal out of a cod, such as a halibut. The “21 Can”, Minot’s Light and as inshore as The Glades are good options for live-lining mackerel for what could turn out to be a moby bass. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone doesn’t catch an upper 40-pound striper over the next week this way. Closer to Boston, bass are pounding macks by Boston Light, Graves Light, the outer islands and the BG Buoy. The surf set and small boaters should still frequent river mouths. On the North Shore the Essex and Little Rivers are fishing well with boaters bagging big bass outside of the beaches on live mackerel. Up north, the Piscataqua River is the place to be for teen-sized bass and for cod dance a mackerel fillet over irregular bottom on The Curl and The Fingers.