You needn’t have been a father last weekend to have asked big bass in Boston, “Who’s your daddy?” Fish up to 53 pounds were making life miserable for mackerel and “wicked awesome” for anglers. High times were not limited to the Hub, however, as super-sized stripers were also taken on the South Shore and the North Shore. But that was yesterday’s news, not unlike the Pittsburgh Penguins. More importantly, there’s reason to be optimistic about the next week.

 

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Mackerel have to be tops on the food pyramid of a striped bass’s diet and according to Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate the macks have been reloaded on the South Shore. And not surprisingly, like a giant vacuum the macks brought the stripers back in. Thirty- and forty-pound stripers were taken from perennial big striped bass spots such as Fourth Cliff, The Glades, Minot’s Ledge and the “21 Can.” With the rivers running brown from the incessant downpours upstream, the South and North rivers became quiet. But by the time you read this, the clarity should be back and so should the bass. As water temperatures increase, look for eels to be an increasingly hot striped bass bait, especially for those wading the rivers after dark. Many feel that the best tide to drift an eel is the outgoing.

Blues have been virtually non-existent until now, but the 37-inch jumbo taken just outside of Scituate serves notice that soft plastics may be in peril! For a shot at a blue, try trolling deep-diving plugs such as the venerable Rapala CD18, X-Rap, Sebile Koolie Minnow and Mann’s Stretch. Pogies have been moving into Duxbury Bay, pleasing tuna fishermen collecting live baits and causing some to hope that big bass will find them soon. Tuna continue to tease, at times between 1 to 3 miles of the shoreline, as bass fisherman look to load up on mackerel, but so far there have been no confirmed hook-ups.

 

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report

To take an expression that the media has been pounding a little too much lately, the striper fishing during the last two weeks has been “awesome.” The triangle between Long Island, Deer Island Light and the convergence of the North and South Channels has been hot. There have been a handful of 40s and even 50-pounders taken, topped by a 53-pounder by Captain Russ Burgess. Nice fish have also come from Devils Back and the Five Sisters. Live mackerel have done most of the damage, but kayakers have been hitting them pretty good with big soft-plastic stickbaits (Hogys and Slug-Gos) and the 53-pounder fell for a bunker-colored BigWaterLures troller.

Speaking of bunker, pogies have infiltrated Wollaston Beach. As long as mackerel are present, this bait source will take second billing, but later in the season and especially when blues make an impact pogies will become the number-one bait. One of the highlights of last summer was when a school of 40- and even 50-pound stripers sniffed out the pogies, and for a few days the fishing was legendary.

Rick from Fore River Bait and Tackle in Quincy reminded me not to discount the rivers. By now, the rain-roiled rivers should have cleared and drop-back blueback herring will be on the menu. Rebel Jumpin’ Minnows and Ocean Lures Sand Eels are solid river bets. The tube-and-worm has been working well from Toddy Rocks out to Point Allerton. Rick’s been hearing of bluefish starting to tear through baitfish and tackle with their locations random.

 
 

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Finally an entry into the big bass sweepstakes from the North Shore as Kay Moulton informed me that Surfland weighed in a 49-pounder. The big bass took a mackerel chunk from the ocean front close to the mouth of the Merrimack River. Far from a lone cow, a number of 30-pound fish have also been caught in the area. Boaters looking to load up on mackerel should target Hampton Ledge. The Parker River Wildlife Reservation remains one of the hottest areas on Plum Island, with seaworms accounting for a lot of fish. Another option to consider is drifting eels to the side of the 1A Bridge on the Parker River.

Laura from Ippi’s in Lynn told me that the entire swath from Nahant to Marblehead has been productive for chunking mackerel. She suggests that anglers use as little weight as possible to ensure that the bait sinks slowly and remains in the field of vision of the striper as long as possible. Too many opt for heavy sinkers, but the sharpies use only enough lead so that it sinks. Boaters who can not find mackerel should drop their Sabiki rigs around rockpiles where pollock are plentiful and are make a good substitute bait.

Tomo from Tomo’s Bait and Tackle in Salem said that anglers are jigging up mackerel by Halfway Rock and then tossing them into the wash off Misery Island and scoring nice stripers. Another option is inshore by the Lead Mills. Farther north, Pete from Fin and Feather in Essex reported that Rockport was really hot. Mackerel should be easy to obtain off Halibut Point with striped bass right with them. Now that the Essex, Ipswich and Annisquam rivers have cleared, expect bass to move into them again making them good choices for surf fishermen.

 

New Hampshire and Southern Maine Fishing Report

Jamie from Dover Marine told me that the groundfishing is great. Some are stopping their search at the “Scantums” and finding cod and haddock in as little as 140 feet of water. If that doesn’t deliver, head out to the edges of Jeffreys Ledge, where there has been a mixed bag of pollock, cod and haddock. A pal of Jamie’s heaved aboard a 42-inch halibut that engulfed a live whiting. It’s almost surreal that some are actually targeting halibut and catching them! For bass, you’ll fare best throughout the Piscataqua River while drifting with live mackerel. Macks are readily available from the beginning of Hampton Harbor out through the Isle of Shoals.

Ken from Saco Bay described the striper fishing as “epic” when we spoke. Anglers are tallying 20 to 30 fish in a four-hour tide! Seaworms fished with an egg sinker and a float to lift the bait off the bottom has been especially effective. Both sides of the Saco jetty by the beach and the bay at the mouth of the Saco River are producing fish. Some are soaking bait along the beach and scoring fish as well. Boaters do best with live mackerel which they are finding near Wood Island. They are starting to talk of tuna in Southern Maine and the folks in the shop expect a landing soon.

 

Best Bets for the Weekend

The reappearance of mackerel on the South Shore has brought in big bass. Shore guys should sling eels in the North River or pitch them into the rocks of the Glades. For boaters, it’s all about the bait, and a live mackerel drifted on an outgoing tide by Fourth Cliff should be cow-worthy. Boston was bass-central over the last two weeks and provided that water temperatures don’t surge and the bait stays put, it should remain that way. The tube-and-worm off Hull and live mackerel off Winthrop remain best bets. Chunk mackerel from Plum Island or Halibut Point in Rockport is a solid choice on the North Shore. North of the border, the groundfishing off The Fingers is fantastic and the striper fishing in Maine has been described as epic.