With boats being pulled faster than pork at a barbecue joint, surf-fishermen and sweetwater options are beginning to hold sway. Estuaries and eels remain the ticket for striper success and the repellant for the skunk. Since it ultimately comes down to the bait, if you frequent rivers with healthy river herring populations, odds are there is a striped bass welcoming committee greeting the fry as they journey toward the ocean.

South Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report

Dave from The Fisherman’s Outfitter in Plymouth decided to contribute personally to the forecast as he recently had two successful daily outings off Long Beach in Plymouth. The inner and outer sides have both been productive with chrome Krocodiles, Shimano Orcas and good old chunk mackerel accounting for 30-inch-plus fish. Dave told me that the catch rate could have been higher, but he was distracted by blitzing fish that he couldn’t get to off Warren Cove!

Pete Belsan of Belsan Bait in Scituate told me that the top two choices in Belsan’s bailiwick are bass after dark and brown bombers in close. Anglers drifting among the inshore ledges, such as Davis Ledge, are catching cod. One competent cod-catcher recounted a fish-a-drift until he limited out in white bellies from 5 to 9 pounds! The boat guys are often trolling in what seems like a dead sea, but those who have taken to the graveyard shift in marshes, estuaries and rivers are still catching cows! “Mum” may be their word as to the particulars but odds are that the shop is still moving eels for good reason. When asked for his hunches, Pete suggested the Herring River, Mill River, Little Harbor and the Cunningham Bridge.

We are kicking bass with eels by targeting the top of the tide at the shadow lines of bridges; there are times that the eel is in the water for a second and it is attacked – you have to love October!

While not the South Shore, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the torrid tog bite that my friend Captain Jason Colby is experiencing out of Westport aboard The Little Sister. Just outside of the harbor among a smattering of rockpiles, reefs and wrecks, whitechins gather like finned vultures for green crabs. So how’s the fishing? The fact that they’ve been tossing back 17-inch blackfish says it all. It’s a sweet combination that he’s running: stripers to 20 pounds in Boston Harbor by night and white chins barely into Buzzards Bay by day. If you’ve hauled out your boat and you swear it’s longingly looking at you, consider the trek down there—as temps cool, it’ll only get better.

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report

All is right in the world when the “Shrimp King” of Greater Boston, Rick Newcomb of Fore River Bait & Tackle in Quincy, is once again schlepping through sloughs to stock live grass shrimp! The demand means only one thing – they’re catching smelt again. Nut Island has been good so far, along with the matrix of piers off Hull. I would not be surprised if there were schools of silver streakers held up in Hewitt’s Cove either, or for that matter, off the Summer Street Bridge in Southie. I’m also hearing of a few little buggers off the Charlestown Marina.

Lisa of Fore River told me that anglers are still bagging keeper black sea bass on the backside of Georges Island as well as Hull Gut and West Gut. Thank goodness these “southern fish” can’t read a calendar. Kayakers are frustrating the heck out of the few boaters that are still at it in Quincy Bay who cannot draft the skinny, rock-filled water that holds the bass. The tube and worm has been the bass killer for the kayaks in this stretch.

The harbor’s dynamic duo, Carl Vinning and Dave Panarello, who probably could find stripers in Jamaica Pond, have taken a reprieve from the wind-blown harbor and are not missing a beat by targeting stripers aboard their tin-boat the Mudflat. These guys are focusing on bass, which are gorging on river herring fry that gather this time of the year among various Greater Boston rivers. Teen-sized fish at daybreak push the tiny bluebacks and alewives to the surface and massacre them. Most rivers in Boston have a natal herring run, and between now and November those juveniles will embark on their initial (and possibly last) voyage to the sea..and stripers will be waiting. The Carl and Dave team are getting them on tubes and poppers. Don’t discount poppers at this time of the year. Fish are feeding aggressively, and a loud surface plug such as a popper can be deadlier than a more subtle presentation.

North Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report

The shoreline of Lynn continues to fish like “linesider ally” according to Laura of Ippi’s Bait in Lynn. While the blow has kept most of the boaters at bay, the surf crowd hasn’t missed a beat, provided they can find a casting avenue among the red “monster mung” from the Tides Restaurant out to Red Rock and into Swampscott. Chunk mackerel has been hot and Ippi’s is carrying eels as well!

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem told me of an unexpected bluefish blitz off Cape Ann, more towards the Manchester section. The toothies were respectable 6- to 9-pounders! He’s been hearing of huge stripers up to 50 inches falling for chunk bait at night off the Lynn Shoreline. Cod are being caught close to Tinkers Island according to Noel from Bridge Street Sports in Salem, but most striper reports begin and end with the word “schoolies.” But not all anglers are settling for shorts; a dedicated customer of the shop who fishes for sustenance usually catches a keeper a day by chunking mackerel from Salem Willows as well as the Beverly Pier.

Martha of Surfland in Newburyport said that it is a schoolie-fest in the Merrimack River but larger linesiders prowl the Plum Island surf. Craig, who helps out in the shop, walks the wash most days casting a simple leadhead jig/Bass Assassin in neutral colors and steadily picks up fish as he goes. If you spend much time out there, you may be startled by surface-crashing “monsters” as huge sturgeon take flight, scaring the heck out of the uninitiated. When pressed for an eel/estuary alternative, Martha offered up the Plum Island Sound/Parker River area as a place to poke around after dark in search of stripers that go bump in the night.

New Hampshire and Southern Maine

Overwhelmingly, striper fishermen in the Granite State have put their bass game away until next spring. But a nice alternative, according to Chad from Dover Marine, is the gangbuster groundfishing that is taking place on the back or eastern edge of Jeffreys Ledge between The Cove and The Fingers. It looks as if a slug of super-sized haddock has muscled their way onto there and is shocking folks away with their size! The talk is even of trophy 34-inch fish! For haddock, tie on a pink teaser – cod fly, soft stickbait – sweeten with clam and let it rest on the bottom while employing the “haddock wiggle,” which is code for just shaking the rod tip. Haddock love this motion.

The most surprising news this week came courtesy of Nick from Saco Bay Tackle Company who told me that some stalwarts are still slamming stripers with bait among the Saco Region beaches. While most fish are schoolies, an occasional teen-sized fish lingers to make things interesting. I can’t help but wonder if a better bass still lurks in the Scarborough Marsh at night and would fall for an eel? Big mackerel can still be found off Wood Island and there is still a big bluefin bite not far out from shore; while it’s not as sizzling as last week it may still be worth the effort.

Freshwater Fishing Report

Eddie of B&A Bait and Tackle in West Boylston found himself in the thick of a superb largemouth bass bite the other day off the Rte. 12 Causeway as the 2- to 4-pounders couldn’t stay away from his shiners. More typical ‘Chu fare, such as landlocked salmon and rainbow trout, are hitting well on worms at the Quinapoxet from the Oakdale Dam down to the railroad bridge. The bows are especially nice, averaging 2 to 3 pounds! Look for rainstorms to be the incentive to bringing more salmon upstream into the Thomas Basin and ultimately into the Stillwater River. I can’t emphasize more strongly the value of releasing any salmon you are fortunate enough to catch; many who have been fishing New England for awhile consider Salmo Sebago the most regal fish that swims in freshwater and the stock in the ‘Chu was on the skids only a few years ago. Wachusett proper is giving up smallies and lakers by the Rte. 70 and 110 sides.

Close to the Hub, while the stripers are still cooperating in the salt, Laura from Ippis in Lynn said that due to recent stockings in Sluice Pond and other designated trout water bodies increasingly anglers are turning to the relaxing pursuit of rainbows. Small shiners are working well as is the always reliable “garden hackle.” Try floating your worm off the bottom with a miniature marshmallow for better visibility and appeal. Nearby Flax Pond is an urban gem that often gives up bragging-sized largemouth bass especially to those soaking large shiners.

Congratulations to Tim from Suds ‘N Soda who is now part of Clamcorp’s Pro Team. If you’ve ever heard Tim’s captivating accounts of wooing slab-sized panfish from both open-water and hardwater, you’d see the fit. The big panfish bite is “insane” according to Tim as he is targeting Greenwood Pond and Bellamy Reservoir and catching crappie and big bull ‘gills which are suspended halfway down in the deeper sections of the water body. The key is a subtle presentation with 2- to 4-pound line, a Jason Mitchell jigging rod, Maki soft plastics and the Lake Fork Target Shad. According to Tim, the last two are like divining rods for slabs; if they are around the fish will hit them.

Best Bets for the Weekend

The bays are clearing of boats and the suds freeing of most surf fishermen, and while that my kill the camaraderie, the cows are still here. Long Beach in Plymouth remains a solid choice for chunkers; if you have a boat, try the tube and worm by Warren Cove. It seems that Scituate is the spot of the eel slinger, the sprawling North River watershed with its myriad of tributaries, marshes and bridges offers unlimited places to poke around with an eel. For something toothy, try tempting a tautog on the Westport side of Buzzards Bay. A kayak gold choice would be the shoreline of Quincy Bay out to Hangman Island with the tube and worm working best. Find the herring fry in the rivers of the Hub and you’ll catch stripers on poppers. On the North Shore, Lynn, especially by Red Rock, remains red hot while your last chance at a bluefish may be off Cape Ann. Sweetwater appears to be the A-game in the Granite State as crappie feed aggressively from Greenwood Pond and other warm water ponds. If you’re looking for that swan song to the striper season – relax – they’re still catching bass up to and over 30 inches in Saco, Maine.