A case could be made for us having the best of both worlds right now. Outside it is feeling like summer, but fishing like the fall. Your best bets for bass remain the same: swim serpents (eels) inshore at dark and live-line mackerel against structure at dusk and dawn. There are other significant options, however, as cod are cruising as close as they have all season and there are giant tuna out there big enough to put a pre-Halloween scare in you.

South Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report

Dave from the Fisherman’s Outfitter in Plymouth said that early October is living up to its billing with bigger bass mixing it up with junior. The usually reliable Long Beach has been fishing best early in the day for chunkers and those plying the suds with Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows and Rapala X-Raps. One should also keep an eye out for Shifting Lots Preserve as well as neighboring Ellisville Harbor. Dave also recommended trolling with a tube and worm or live mackerel from Priscilla Beach through White Horse Beach and out to Manomet Point. Come October, sporadic blitzes are often on the menu in this stretch. The best bet for big blues is still near the power plant. For those looking to match the hatch, inshore forage consists of silversides with mackerel easy to obtain just outside of the bays.

One patron of Green Harbor Bait and Tackle recently tallied 30 stripers during an evening of chunking mackerel inside Green Harbor. Mackerel remain the gift that keeps on giving and provided that you set out a nice chum slick you should have no problem jigging a livewell full of this choice cow candy. Bob Pronk suggests you live line or troll macks inside Duxbury Bay and in some cases upstream of Powder Point Bridge where there are pockets of pogies holed up. And one thing you can count on in October is where there’s even a whiff of pogies, there will be big bass nearby. Other choices for live macks are High Pine Ledge, Beetle Rock, the narrows of Green Harbor and Farnham Rock. If you’re looking to tangle with a tuna, it is the piscatorial version of rolling the dice. But you can improve your odds if you’re using live bait such as whiting near the Middle Bank, Whiting Grounds, the Golf Ball and Peaked Hill Bar. Some are getting skunked but then others are catching giants!

Pete from Belsan’s Bait in Scituate said that some are grumbling that the striper fishing could be better. It’s no news flash that you can’t catch a cow if you’re griping at the tackle shop – get out there! We are catching fish up to 37 pounds in the Boston area by eeling in estuaries at night, and live-lining mackerel up against inshore ledges early morning and during the evening. Mr. Belsan recommends areas such as Black Rock Beach, 2nd Cliff, Tobias Ledge, The Grampuses and The Glades as potential spots for you to work a little South Shore magic! Strangely, the steadiest bite comes courtesy of the sacred cod. Look for 60’ to 80’ of water in such spots as Davis Ledge, Flatt Ledge, east of Minot Ledge, and by the 21 Can and chances are good you’ll catch cod from 5 to 8 pounds. Provided that you don’t drift too fast, in shallow water such as this you should be able to get away with jigs/sinkers of 6 to 8 ounces and boy do brown bombers live up to their nickname when caught in skinny water. When asked about football (Pats and Scituate Sailors aside) Pete told me that the small tuna are fast-moving and skittish with few hook-ups, but they are out there!

Greater Boston Fishing Report

And the bass beat goes on–eels at night and live mackerel in the early morning or evening for stripers up to 37 pounds! The other option is to chase the random blitzes but most of these fish are not impressive. Two buddies of mine, Rick Holbrook and Dave Flaherty slammed stripers up to 47” Tuesday night on serpents in a slough in Greater Boston. Rick’s fished conservatively, you might say, as one eel took three stripers before the big girl inhaled it and gave him a case of happy feet as he danced his way along a bridge and down the boulder-strewn shoulder to retrieve the fish. Striper studs who are no stranger to 50-pound beasts believe an eel that has been “kissed” by a bass will out-catch an unmolested one most times. It could be the scent, stress signals or some visual clue, but think of that the next time your struck eel is “curling and not crawling” and you’re considering changing. And these guys are using non-offset circle hooks! They are landing at an equal rate as those with octopus hooks but are hooking fish overwhelmingly in the jaw!

The other guys who are super-sizing stripers are shoving off at false dawn and jigging up macks off Boston Light, Graves Light and Nahant and then taking the macks (dead or alive) into Point Allerton, Wollaston Beach, Quincy Bay, Deer Island and Revere Beach and finding willing stripers with the occasional fish over 40 inches. Drifting the macks in water of less than 20 feet is working best. Again, many of these guys such as Carl Vinning have switched to circle hooks and they are never going back. Chum matters for finding the mackerel and if you shut-off your engine you’ll catch more mackerel than idling.

Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincytold me that the few smelt stalwarts that are fishing for the little buggers are starting to pick a few up off the piers of Hull as well as Nut Island. The busted barge full of beef in the Weymouth Fore River continues to “chum” the river and folks are finding fantastic fishing next to it. Kayakers are making a killing by trolling the tube-and-worm throughout Quincy Bay. Black sea bass are still slamming squid strips from the backside of Georges Island. Laurel from Hull B&T told me that some are slinging eels at Spinnaker Island at night and catching stripers. Another nearby option would be World’s End and the Weir River. Cod are being caught consistently from ledges just outside of Hull.

There are very small schools of pogies in Winthrop and it takes some doing to find them but should you snag one, you are almost guaranteed to hear your drag sing.

North Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report

You have a very real possibility of getting your personal best bass of the season right now as long as you drift, troll or liveline mackerel between Nahant and Marblehead. Folks are catching 40-pound cows employing those methods. The game is on wherever there is ledge, especially white-washed, sudsy shorelines where big bass hunt for crustaceans and occasionally hammer herring. Hot spots have been Short Beach, Lynn Beach, Red Rock, King’s Beach, the Swampscott shoreline and Marblehead. Again, rocks and churned up surf means striped bass – they don’t call them rockfish down south for nothing.

Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that the squid have come back primarily in the Marblehead area. Schools are sporadic but when hit right the tallies can be 70 squid a night. It’s mostly a schoolie-fest in Salem Harbor with fish blitzing most evenings behind the shop in Pickering Wharf as well as off Mackerel Cove Beach in Beverly. Prey appears to be silversides and guys are getting the fish on Hogy’s and Deadly Dicks. Cod are in as close as Tinker’s Ledge, Saturday Night Ledge and I suspect Hills 47 and 101. You can find macks by the 10 Can off Misery Island as well as Satan’s Island.

Things are quiet in Newburyport according to Kay from Surfland somewhat because most are sticking to the beachfront and cannot fish the Parker River Wildlife Reservation due to the “government shutdown”. This is especially strange since the reservation is open all winter with little if any official presence. Most bass have been schoolies and have been taken with seaworms. Craig, who works in the shop, has been having luck bouncing the bottom with jigheads/Bass Assassins. I asked Kay if anyone is working eels in the rivers at night and she said no. I’m thinking you north shore folks have an untapped resource you’re missing out on. Whether it be the Annisquam, Essex, Ipswich, Parker or whatever river you can find, I’d bet there are bass seeking prey there most nights and an eel will find them. We have been having the most success right around the top of the tide near bridge pilings and shadow lines.

New Hampshire and Southern Maine

Tim from Suds ‘N Soda told me that stripers are still being taken in Great Bay by the daytime crew but better fish are stealthily pursued at night with eels. Try for a cow or two at Hampton Marsh or the rocky shoreline of Rye Beach. There’s slammer pollock off of Jeffreys Ledge. The action has vacillated between The Curl, The Prong and the Fingers. A 912-pound tuna, in addition to smaller giants, was recently taken off the New Hampshire coast. Herring and whiting are the bait of choice and while the guys who caught the big bluefin are keeping quiet, Tim suggests fisherman try The Mudhole and The Flag.

While usually a source of cheer, about now I dread my calls to Saco Bay Tackle for fear that I will hear those awful words, “no stripers.” BUT not this week! In fact according to Ken top of the tide to outgoing has been hot for stripers up to the low-30-inch range! Schoolies are more common in the river but the beaches are harboring bigger bass that are hitting seaworms as well as clams. The entire stretch of shoreline from Pine Point in Scarborough to Goose Rocks in Biddeford Pool still has striped bass and the with stable weather predicted they should still have at least a week to go! However, you may want to go jig up some horse mackerel off Wood Island and haul out to Tantas Ledge or take the trip to Jeffreys because the giant bluefin bite has definitely improved. Tuna hunters are marking tuna “everywhere”; in fact one crew reported marking 30 giants!

Best Bets for the Weekend

On the South Shore, sling some serpents from Long Beach at dark or Damon’s Point. If you have a boat at the ready, jig up some macks which remain plentiful and can be caught easily if you set out a chum slick. Fish those macks off The Gurnet, MaryAnn Rocks, Manomet Point or Farnham Rock. Green Harbor has been delivering a good night bite for chunks. Cod are cruising among Davis Ledge, Flatt Ledge and the ledges off Hull. Stripers search for eels among the rivers from Hingham through Boston come dark. A live mackerel off King’s Beach, Preston Beach or Phillips Beach could cull out that seasonal best striper for you. In Newburyport, they’re taking fish by running and gunning Plum Island Beach with leadhead/swim shad combinations. Great Bay still has good striper fishing as do the beaches of Maine but from something that will really make your drag scream, jig some macks by Wood Island and search for a giant tuna off Jeffreys Ledge.