For most of us the striper season unfolds in stages beginning with the yearning for that first tug of the line. Any old schoolie will usually do initially, but as the year progresses we long for bigger with mackerel usually the conduit to that first cow of the year. But that all changes once the pogies arrive and everything prior is relegated to runner-up status: well my friends I’m happy to report that the pogies are here!

Whether it’s pogies or hickory shad in more southern environs, it definitely pays to believe in the big bait, big bass mantra. An example of this comes courtesy of my friend Captain Jason Colby who hauls the Little Sister from Quincy to Westport come August looking for a more eclectic mix of species.  The other day he was livelining hickory shad when a bluefish chomped it into a chunk. The chunk was soon engulfed by a bass of monstrous proportions.

When a guy who’s tallied a couple dozen stripers over 50-pounds including a 64 ¼-pounder labels a fish as the biggest he’s had on in 25 years, odds are it’s more than a just a keepah. Typical of an old confident cow the bass remained composed, hugged the bottom and “walked” the skipper slowly from bow to stern and then back again the whole while feeling like an immovable object even though Captain Colby uses an 8’ Star meat stick and a Shimano conventional TLD spooled with 50-pound mono.

At about the minute mark, the big bass seemed to finally decide its next move, began to lift off the bottom and things were about to get really interesting. But victory was not to be the angler’s as the fish shook free of the hook even though it was a Gamakatsu 8/0 Octopus. While it’s been said a million times, it bears repeating that the shortest route to the fish of your dreams is with a big baitfish such as a hickory shad or a pogy!

South Shore

According to Dave from The Fisherman’s Outfitter in Plymouth there are hickory shad in the harbor, especially by the DeMarsh Boat Ramp and out to the breakwater bridge. The only caveat while procuring some for bait is that you may get distracted since they are such spectacular leapers and fighters. Like elsewhere, the stretch between Plymouth and Duxbury is teeming with snapper blues. Little blues are supreme fluke bait and they are finding fluke right off Long Beach (Plymouth Beach). The tube and worm is working well of Long Beach, the Cowyard and Duxbury Beach. You may find hickory shad in Duxbury Bay and there are usually a few pogies to go along with them. If there are no bass with the bait take it for a boat ride to Saquish Point, The Gurnet or High Pine Ledge.

While the theme I’m pushing is big bait, Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate reported the arrival of a small baitfish that is the exception – peanut bunker! Let’s hope that this is the first wave of many which will bode well for an awesome fall run. Not surprisingly hot lures have been swim shads as well as 5-inch Sebile Magic Swimmers. Some bass up to 28-pounds were pushing mackerel up against Minot Beach and Humarock Beach. Pete remarked how some of the best fishing takes place among seemingly featureless beaches where a few choice rockpiles will hold all the fish and knowing where the structure is really matters. Some nice bass have also been taken at Fourth Cliff as well as The Glades come dark on eels. Slightly cooler water temps have brought in makos to just east of Stellwagen with two 200-pounders taken recently aboard the Elizabeth Marie and Power Play.

Greater Boston

The big news is that pogies, in both peanut and adult sizes have filtered into the Boston Area. And like clockwork there are stripers and blues big enough to put some serious strain on your gear. No-one is likely to describe the schools as epic and you’ll need a trained eye and early start to spot them but should you snag one odds are extremely good you’ll come away with a bass between 20 and 35 pounds! Hot spots for pogies in the past have been Hull Bay and Hull Gut, Hingham Harbor, the Town River, Wollaston Beach, Castle Island, Deer Island, Winthrop Harbor and Revere Beach. Peanut bunker often hug the shoreline and they’ve been spotted around the perimeter of Deer Island.

This year could go down as the year of the mackerel. While the adage has always been “Mother’s Day to Father’s Day” we are fast approaching Labor Day and they are still picking them up off Hull, the BG Buoy and sometimes as close as Nahant. Russ Eastman of Monahan’s Marine in Weymouth weighed in two mid-thirty pound bass that took live mackerel from Harding’s Ledge. The other voluminous species in these parts are squid and snapper blues. Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett told me that he is selling more squid jigs than in years. Find a lit wharf or pier in tranquil water and most likely you’ll find squid. The swarms of snappers are having a few resourceful anglers live lining them for fluke and catching corkers worthy of more southern environs. Try for fluke in Lynn Harbor, by the breakwater of Revere Beach and the marshy sections of Long Island where my friend Nick Frasso commonly caught them.

Speaking of Nick, the 9^th Annual Help Hook The Cure Derby takes place this Saturday! If there ever was a celebratory fishing tournament this is the one. This charitable feel-good event has donated over $130,000 toward the fight against Parkinson’s disease! And On The Water magazine’s support is all over it from a generous donation to even the Striper Cup “house band” Deep Water Blues rocking the place! Sign up at The Elks Club at 191 Washington Street, Winthrop – see you there!

Quite possibly the biggest news this week is of 12 year old John Aldorasi of Medford who while fishing with his dad at Spot Pond in Stoneham caught the bluegill of 3 lifetimes! How’s this for a gigantic gill: 2.5 pounds! The fish would have been the new state record but John snapped some quick photos and released it to fight another day. I’ll post the photos as soon as I get some clearer copies. From the shots I’ve seen it has the dimensions of a dinner plate!

North Shore

Noel from Bridge Street Sports said that stripers have been much more active lately. He has seen some photos from patrons of stripers taped to 49”! Squid occupy two niches: dinner for fishermen and dinner for the bass as some are live-lining the squid on the spot and catching stripers. The Beverly Pier and Salem Willows still produce calamari as well as the occasional cow. A few nice fish have been taken at Forest River Park at night on chunk. While the park closes at dusk you can park outside and hoof it. Snapper blues are nearly everywhere in the harbors while occasionally bigger blues along with some nice bass fall for deep diving plugs (especially those trolled from downriggers) trolled outside of the islands in 40-60 feet of water. Tube and wormers are scoring 30” plus stripers off Tinkers Island in Marblehead.

Pete from Fin and Feather in Essex also reported improved fishing on the North Shore. The Essex River has been productive for pluggers tossing Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows and Daiwa SP Minnows. Any beachgoer will tell you that stripers are consistently spotted chasing down sand eels and other small baitfish at Cranes Beach and Good Harbor Beach, guys hitting these spots with serpents after dark are cleaning up.

Liz from Surfland told me that with parking lots 2, 3 and 7 in the Parker River Wildlife Reservation just opening up there’s a lot more productive shoreline to fish. The timing of this is perfect as the nighttime crew fishing the Plum Island beach front, Sandy Point and Cranes Beach are all getting keeper striped bass. Martha Moulton and her husband have been working eels from a boat off the beach fronts and doing very well. Owing to the lack of any real blue presence (snappers notwithstanding) mackerel can still be found with jack macks near Breaking Rock and tinkers by the Speckled Apron.

New Hampshire and Southern Maine

The beaches are fishing best according to Chad from Dover Marine and hardly anyone is fishing for them there. The effluence where the river runs into Wells Beach has been hot as has been rockpiles and ledge along Hampton and Rye Beaches. The SP Minnow in most every color conceivable has been a cow killer. Squid continue to swarm throughout the Piscatagua River and the black sea bass bite remains off the charts with anglers scoring by drifting over structure and pounding it with jigs. Offshore fishing remains consistently good with all manner of game gadoids off Jeffrey’s Ledge as well as inshore humps, bumps and clumps. However, with one angler already having tallied 70 blue sharks you had better reel in your catch quickly. Tim from Suds ‘N Soda told me that the ticket to the most steady striper bite in New Hampshire is drifting with a Kayak through the Piscatagua River with eels. If you try the same maneuver by day and substitute Crippled Herrings and bucktails you’ll score black sea bass.

Nick from Saco Bay Tackle Company called out the beaches as the best bet at the moment. Chunk or eels after dark is the winning formula. After a brief hiatus mackerel have reappeared by Wood Island outside of Saco Bay. Some bass are with the bait and some fish are found by trolling or live-lining the macks by the Camp Ellis Jetty. You should have solid results off most any beach in Southern Maine after dark. Red/white and green/white teasers are the ticket to cod and pollock off Tantas and Jeffrey’s Ledge.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Finding the bait usually leads one to the fish but this goes doubly for super-sized stripers. Look for hickory shad in Plymouth or pogies in Duxbury Bay and chances are you’ll find big bass nearby. Mackerel still roam near the ledges off Hull through the BG Buoy and out to Nahant. Top off the livewell with macks and steam towards Strawberry Ledge, Harding’s Ledge and Finn Ledge. Of course you could instead set your sights for flipping pogies which seen to be increasing in numbers in Greater Boston almost daily and have big striped bass in hot pursuit. The Essex River on the North Shore as well as the Parker River Wildlife Reservation has been productive with mackerel and eel being the bait of choice. In the Granite State rockpiles among otherwise non-descript beaches are striper magnets while eels from the bridges of the Piscatagua River are promising also. Mackerel have reappeared off the coast of Southern Maine and therein is the method to catch a striper.