Fishing Report for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine

The quintessential question regarding stripers this time of the year could be, “How badly do you want it?” It’s not easy casting into what feels like an empty sea made all the more taxing when a NW gust slips between layers of clothing and tests your resolve. But some are still catching; so again I ask you, “How badly do you want it?”

Freshwater

Your best bet for action is now in freshwater! Eric from Lunkers in Ashland told me that anglers are catching some terrific trout from Ashland Reservoir. Rainbows, tiger trout and holdover brown trout are keeping the shop filling shiner requests. Dave from Merrimac Sports told me that anglers are targeting pike throughout the Merrimack River and Concord River. As befitting the big bait for a big appetite mentality, the shop painstakingly procures pike shiners for those targeting the toothies. Dave suggests the spot where the Shawsheen enjoins the Merrimack as a starting point. Plugs Pond in Haverhill has been overlooked because most haven’t realized that it received an uncharacteristic fall stocking of trout! For bass, try slow-rolling a spinnerbait or cranking in a lipless crankbait next to weedbeds at Tewksbury Pond.

Eddie of B&A Bait and Tackle said the increased flow from predicted rains should spur salmon into moving into the Stillwater River to spawn. Lakers have moved into the Quinapoxet as well as the Stillwater Basin. Both sides of the “power lines” should be fast and furious for forktails as flow from the Thomas Basin will lure the lakers upstream. Smallie sharpies are pounding fish on tubes, jigs and shiners by the Gate 30 side of the reservoir.

Rod from Flagg’s in Orange told me that a few are enjoying wicked walleye fishing throughout the Connecticut River. The hot stretch is in the town of Northfield, close to the New Hampshire border. The anglers doing best are employing a jig/worm and probing depressions along the riverbed. Rod has some super hot jigs that are made by a local artisan who in spite of living in the Connecticut Valley Region sells one of the hottest cod jigs that is a must have for many a bottom bouncer.  Some guys are soaking shiners right behind the shop at the boat ramp at Lake Rohunta and picking off 2- to 3-pound largemouth bass. North and South Spectacle ponds are producing steady perch and crappie fishing with the latter fishing best by canoe or kayak. A little factoid about South Spectacle Pond is that this is the only water body within the Quabbin Reservoir watershed where you can launch your own pram, canoe or kayak and it is the only water body among the reservation where you can ice fish! Anticipated rain should get the landlocked salmon moving from the Swift River into the tributaries. The view from the Rte. 9 Bridge is awe-inspiring as trophy finned trout are often spotted meandering in the current.

South Shore

The hottest stretch for stripers in the Bay State appears to be the Plymouth through Duxbury area. Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate said that some are live-lining hickory shad and even pogies still by Powder Point Bridge and catching good bass. Green Harbor is also fishing well for those using the over-sized hickories. Anglers slithering serpents throughout the South River are catching striped bass. One patron of Pete’s got into blitzing mackerel off The Glades, but ultimately was miffed that the macks were not stripers.  Blitzing bass were a recent phenomenon off Peggotty Beach. Cod are still being caught over structure within 3 miles of the shoreline; just be aware of the 2 fish per person bag limit for state waters beginning November 1^st.

Rick from Fore River told me that smelt fishermen are having a slow go of it so far. This is a shame since there’s a bumper crop this year of grass shrimp and they are big, hardy beauties. The DMF biologist in charge of anadromous fishes told me that stock samplings conducted during the spawn last spring showed a dip in numbers but he also told me that this doesn’t necessarily transfer to low catch rates in the fall, so there is still hope!

While I haven’t been out yet, friends have been doing poorly but next week I intend on taking up the cause with purpose. Rick Newcomb did have patrons catch some in the Hingham Harbor area. Look for the forecasted rains to be the impetus for river herring fry to begin migrating into the sea. The mouths of rivers which support herring runs should be good this weekend as bass lie in wait for them. My buddies Carl and Dave will be targeting those fish at that time.

Boston

Mill Pond conditions and a gloveless night in a Greater Boston estuary made Tuesday night feel more like September but the eerie silence of the marsh paralleled the calendar; the season was in its final stages. Out of the corner of his eye, Rick Holbrook could have sworn he saw a faint ring on the surface. Was it a feeding fish or the result of an overactive imagination? Rick snapped on an RM Smith needlefish and began slowly but steadily cranking it in when a bass blew up on the plug proving that this was not make believe. Rick missed the fish and that would be it until the following night when Rick vowed to see if an eel would be more to the liking of that reluctant linesider. Dave Panarello and Carl Vinning had 2 ½ skunkings in another local estuary but having shook off the skunk before were hardly ready to fly the white flag. If the number 2 1/2 sounds odd, it is! Because the reason the half of an outing did not become a whole was because a fat 29-incher crashed Dave’s tube and worm and reminded them why they view November as most regard May—the game is far from over!

North Shore

Noel from Bridge Street Sports told me that he has patrons who are buying seaworms and catching schoolies off Red Rock in Lynn. Mackerel can be jigged up off Salem Willows Pier and I suspect the pier off Fisherman’s Beach in Swampscott. Folks live-lining this striper candy are finding no “interested parties”. Tomo from Tomo’s in Salem said that there are still a few schoolies being caught throughout Salem Harbor. A more reliable bite is courtesy of cod among humps and bumps off the Cape Ann coast and (get this) they are being caught from kayaks!

From my experience the best inshore cod spot along the North Shore is off Nahant. Bounce a jig or drift with some clams or even green crabs (my first choice for cod bait) from Saunders Ledge past the East Point and see if you can’t whip a few white bellies. Mackerel are being caught just outside of Gloucester by the Groaner. While there’s no news of any stripers being taken in the Newburyport over the last week, Kay from Surfland said that authorities are keeping the Parker River Wildlife Reservation open this weekend for those by boot or beach buggy so you’ll have one more shot at a striper here!

New Hampshire and Southern Maine

Chad from Dover Marine told me that the New Hampshire chapter of Trout Unlimited recently stocked the Lamprey, Exeter, Isinglass and Cocheco Rivers. This is a catch and release, artificial lures only fishery but the sweet rainbows and brown trout they have stocked make it worth the while. Fred from Suds ‘N Soda has a few folks targeting smelt throughout the harbors of Southern New Hampshire and the quieter sections of the Piscatagua River.

Dylan from Dag’s in Auburn said that some are targeting toothies throughout the Androscoggin Watershed. This shop is a hardwater favorite and they are already stocking big bait for pike and togue. Crappie is an underappreciated resource in Southern Maine and this fish thrives in many ponds and lakers throughout the state. Coves that get the full affect of the afternoon sun in the Androscoggin River often hold crappie, especially where you find blowdown timber. Other water bodies for crappie are Little Ossipee as well as Little Sebago. Some nearby rivers thrive with recently stocked broodstock trout; swing in the shop and these folks will give you the inside track!

Best Bet for the Weekend

Typical of late October/early November options fall like the foliage but not all of them! Striper fishing on the South Shore remains a possibility but be prepared to sift through the occasional skunk for the striper. Jig up a hickory shad and live-line this big bait for bass by the Powder Point Bridge or at Green Harbor. Smelt fishing is not quite newsworthy yet near The Hub, but it is early and should improve off the piers of Hull, Hingham Harbor, Nut Island and most any marina or dock you can gain access to throughout Boston and Winthrop Harbor. On the North Shore, “big macks” are hitting well off Salem Willows and by the Groaner outside of Gloucester. Over the border, trout among the tributaries is the talk around Great Bay and in Maine pike and crappie are beginning to stir among the Androscoggin River.