Typical of late September, half of the anglers succumb to a few fruitless outings and pack it in… while others are doubling their efforts and are being rewarded with their biggest striped bass of the season! If that’s not enough to keep you casting, then maybe the appearance of “footballs” is just the incentive you need to keep your posterior off the couch and your hands off the remote.

It’s easy to succumb to the chill of the pre-dawn air and a few skunkings and long for next May. But last I checked, there is ordinarily a good deal of nasty weather between now and then. And then there are fishing families such as the Holeys, who give us hope to keep casting. Personally, I’ll always have a warm spot for Joe Sr., who during the midst of a boat blitz off Deer Island years ago took pity on two forlorn surf fishermen – me and my friend Rick – who were out of range and out of luck. When was the last time you heard of a boat guy asking a couple surfcasting strangers if they wanted to jump aboard and catch fish? I can hear the crickets now… but that’s just Joe.

It’s not surprising that his sons, Joe Holey Jr. (who pens the fishing report for the Lynn Item) and Mike share the obsession. On Wednesday, after a dismal morning, the trio simply retooled and decided to hit the same spot that evening – and found insatiable stripers that could not pass up their tinker mackerel in a trough next to only a couple of feet of water! Big fish honors (for the season so far as well) went to Joe Sr. for a portly 32-pounder! This was made all the sweeter since Dad was given the ultimate hall pass from Mrs. Holey as they were celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary! Joe Sr. thus far had a poor season since he was playing “guide” to others and content to put them into fish. If that doesn’t make you believe in karma then I don’t know what will!

Be prepared to get as many, if not more, misses as hits this time of the year. But when you connect, it just might be a grand slam! And just as the rest of the season, your odds improve the closer you are to dawn and dusk.

South Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report

There are never any shortcuts when the target is big striped bass. The first maxim is low light conditions; the second is current along with adequate structure from which bass are apt to launch an ambush. And above all, it usually takes a big bait to get a big bass’ attention. I have a new favorite in that category: the RM Smith JackHammer. Spooks, because of their versatility, are among my favorite topwater lures, but most tend to be small plugs. At 9 inches and 3.75 ounces, the JackHammer is anything but small. On the eve of planning to liveline eels in Westport with my pal, Captain Jason Colby, another buddy tossed me (with both hands) a white-fleck RM Smith Jackhammer. Upon examination I thought that if ever there was a plug that approximated a hickory shad from below, this was it. While the bass that morning snubbed their noses at the eels, at false dawn I snapped on that giant spook and it became a striper slaying-fest! A subsequent trip yielded similar results along with countless queries from Captain Colby about that plug. Now we have two things to look forward to, my next outing with the JackHammer and Jason’s pending package delivery from RM Smith!

Dave from The Fisherman’s Outfitter in Plymouth told me that the striped bass fishing is at its peak right now. What you will find is fish but not fishermen! Long Beach has been great for pluggers and chunkers. Duxbury Beach has been equally hot. From Pete at Belsan’s Bait in Scituate came some football news that had nothing to do with pigskins or tailgate parties. A surge of 50-pound school tuna have appeared within a few miles of the coast of Scituate. Footballs can be landed on heavy striped bass gear and will fall for topwater plugs, Butterfly-style jigs as well as soft-plastic stick baits. These fish don’t always flash on the surface; keep an eye for marked fish when you cross contour lines and watch out for surface-feeding birds that indicate that fish are pushing bait from below. Shearwaters and gannets, which are deep-divers, sometimes indicate bait but not necessarily bluefin, while the presence of gulls or terns can tip off tuna.

Mackerel are still apparent within a few miles of the shoreline with chummers accounting for more fish than random jiggers. Liveline the macks in close against rocky stretches of shorelines, bars or troughs and especially from dusk to dawn. Bob from Green Harbor in Marshfield said that anglers working the shorelines with live mackerel are catching plenty of striped bass. One patron of the shop sets sail only for what it takes to obtain mackerel and then comes back to Green Harbor where he finds willing stripers in close. Cod are cruising inshore between 50 and 70 feet of water. Giant tuna fishing is good at the Whiting Grounds with live bait – mackerel, whiting or bluefish – accounting for the most action.

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report

After days of an eerily quiet Boston Harbor, Thursday morning erupted among the inner harbor as anglers reveled in a good-old-fashioned bluefish, bass, bird and bait blitz! The fish were not big, with mid-20-inch fish dominating the action; regardless, such a spectacle makes September finally feel like September and it’s nice to see the return of smaller fish. I suspect the bait was the tinker mackerel, which have been common just outside of the harbor. Laurel from Hull Bait and Tackle can tell by the run of Sabiki rigs from the shops outdoor 24-7 vending machine that mackerel are still easy pickings. She’s hearing of macks past Boston Light by Martins Ledge. Potential spots to liveline mackerel are by West Gut, Hull Gut, Toddy Rocks, Hangman Island and Rainsford Island.

Rick from Fore River in Quincy told me that enquiries of all things smelt are starting. Thus far the “grass shrimp king” has not felt the need to start procuring live smelt candy, but he usually has flash-frozen shrimp on hand should you be in the mood to give it a go. Only two customers of the shop are trying for them off Nut Island. The Weymouth Back and Fore Rivers have been productive for striped bass. The latter receiving what may have been an unexpected boost from a befallen barge that leaked beef tallow into the watershed, perhaps drawing bait and bass from afar!

North Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report

There have been some 40-inch-plus stripers taken in Lynn Harbor off the causeway leading to Nahant. Most are picking these fish off on chunk bait during lower stages of nighttime tides when anglers can cast their offerings into the channel. Some suspect that there are still pockets of pogies coursing the place, and as long as this big bait source stays present, big bass will not be far away. Mackerel are no problem from the 2 Can off Nahant toward the East Point, with the latter spot more inclined to give up tinkers. Usually there are no predators with the macks, as stripers this time of the year tend to orientate toward the shoreline where they prowl for pogies, sea herring or invertebrates. A good bet is to troll the macks along Revere Beach, Lynn Beach, King’s Beach or along the craggy coast of Swampscott.

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle at Pickering Wharf in Salem said that the report trail is getting stale but there are plenty of mackerel near Satan’s Rock. While fishing is inconsistent one of the better bass bites has been taking place at night in Lynn Harbor with live mackerel. Squid have gone quiet and there’s no news on smelt as of yet.

Billy, who helps out at Surfland, has been walking the Plum Island surf on most mornings and plucking a few bass out of the wash on plugs. Martha told me that the hot lure has been the small Guppy pencil popper, the same one that is featured in the gear section of October’s issue of On The Water. There must be a run on these lures because she’s even been shipping them out! Amazingly snapper blues are still mobbing most everything that swims. An angler using a bright orange foam float in no time at all had the finish picked clean from these vicious little critters. I would still count on a few cows showing up in Plum Island Sound as well as the Parker River come dark.

New Hampshire and Southern Maine Fishing Report

The going is hardly great in the Granite State as reports are reduced to “well, last week I know of a guy who…” But Fred from Suds ‘N Soda did tell me of an impressive cod bite inshore of the Isle of Shoals in water as shallow as 50-65 feet of water with cod and big pollock making up the mix. While it was an awesome year for squid, they have apparently left or just aren’t being fished for. Soon the scuttlebutt should turn to smelt as old salts should start jigging Swedish Pimples or soaking seaworms from Rye and Hampton Harbors.

Nick from Saco Bay Tackle told me that the few that frequent the surf are still finding stripers in the Saco Bay area. The jetties have been good for bait soakers, while the beaches of Camp Ellis and Old Orchard have featured some fish as well. An alternative is sweetwater fishing for landlocked salmon. Dylan of Dag’s in Auburn told me that the fish are staging in inlets in northern Sebago as well as in tributaries of Thompson Lake. Farther north it is prime time to hunt down brilliantly colored wild brook trout. Stop in the shop, the folks there will steer you in the right direction. Shiners are schooled up in the Androscoggin River with dropping water temperatures heightening the interest from northern pike.

Best Bets for the Weekend

On the South Shore, you really should be thinking football; with little more than heavy duty striper gear – 300 yards of 50-pound braid, some Butterfly Jigs, Bill Hurleys’, RonZs and maybe a Yo-Zuri Hydro Popper – you may be able to tangle with a tuna. To put it in perspective, our comrades on the Cape are all positively amped over false albacore, which are but a fraction of the size of their larger cousins! Striped bass are on the move and on the feed off Plymouth Beach and Duxbury Beach. Mackerel remain the ticket to striper action in Boston Harbor, especially at night if you troll or toss them among inshore structure off the beaches of Nantasket, Winthrop or Revere. Shore guys could do worse than frequent the Weymouth Fore and Back Rivers. On the North Shore, Lynn Beach and Lynn Harbor remain hot, especially at night with Newburyport good for those willing to toe the suds, keep on the move and work the shoreline with pencil poppers. The Granite State has grown quiet while anglers who are still at it in Maine report that stripers are still present among the beaches near Saco Bay.