The striped bass catch count has paralleled the numbers of anglers who are still at it, but there’s still catching going on. While inevitably there are some skunks stinking up things, some of the November stripers are slobs that would impress in September! Other saltwater options range from smelt to tautog to cod to tuna. And the freshwater fishing is only getting better.
Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Forecast
Hopefully you read Jimmy Fee’s blog about the Wachusett landlocked salmon we were chasing last week. For those new to this species, many view Salmo sebago as the most sporting, regal freshwater fish that swims in New England and I for one find myself solidly in that camp. If you’re lucky enough to run into an elder outdoorsman putting along in a northern New England lake with an outboard that has long shed its shroud, usually you’ll find a fisher who fancies no other fish. They are gorgeous acrobats and to hold one is to take a trip back to a far wilder time…a time when their saltwater kin, which many referred to as the fish of kings, coursed many of the larger rivers of New England!
The landlocked salmon in Quabbin Reservoir have been faring poorly the last few years because of the lack of smelt; the Res’ (as traditionalists call Wachusett) has enjoyed a boon of this most-prized baitfish, and the landlocked salmon have benefited. While everything that swims in Wachusett predates on smelt, no species is as dependent on them as landlocked salmon. These fish are the only exclusively self-sustaining population of salmon in Massachusetts; Quabbin has to be heavily stocked to keep numbers up. I haven’t caught one yet this year, but when I do, you can bet I’ll be letting it go and I hope you do too!
Eddie of B and A Bait and Tackle in West Boylston told me that the rains have triggered the salmon into leaving the basins, and they are now pooled up in the rivers. Fly-fishermen have been picking off a few with Mickey Finns and egg flies. There are still some beautiful rainbows in the Quinapoxet River, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some are cruising contour lines close to the shoreline looking to pick off prey fish. I’ve heard that Carl Hewitt of Sterling is beginning to find forktails a bit closer to the shoreline, and if he says it you can count on it. While Wachusett Reservoir is home to six Massachusetts State Records, there may soon be a seventh from an unexpected fish – a white catfish. Eric Amidon caught a 10-pound, 13-ounce white cat from the Gate 7 side of the reservoir on a shiner! Identifying cats is tricky business, so the process is still under review by Masswildlife, but if this holds true it’ll be just another reason to be awed by Wachusett.
Rod from Flaggs in Orange told me of a couple of guys who worked their way through 8-dozen crawlers recently in the Northfield section of the Connecticut River. Rod recommends the deep pools by the Route 10 Bridge and the French King Bridge (Rte. 2), the latter of which has 90-foot depths! Among the smorgasbord of species were eight walleye! One-ounce jig/crawler combos are doing the damage. Recent stockings of rainbow trout have Lake Mattawa and the Miller River practically lapping with trout and few fishermen! Rod suggests the Wendell Depot and South Roylston sections of the Miller.
Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report
Bob from Green Harbor Bait and Tackle in Marshfield told me of tuna markings from Stellwagen Bank out to the Chatham side of the Cape. No take-downs within the last week that he’s aware of, but just prior Scott Sinclair subdued a few of those beasts. Mackerel are easy pickings around Stellwagen for both fun and as tuna bait. Inshore, the cod fishing (reduced now to 2 fish per person/75 pound limit) is steady. Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate said that a customer diamond jigging just outside of Scituate Harbor for cod, tallied two 18- to 19-inch tautog for the cooler. With that smattering of brown bombers and blackfish, the eating must have been quite good in that household. For cod and just maybe a tog or two, focus on Flatt Ledge, Scarlett Ledge, Stone Ledge and Davis Ledge. Few are fishing for stripers but the one patron of the shop who keeps pounding 30-inch-plus bass in the South River estuary on eels isn’t missing the company.
Greater Boston Fishing Report
Boston’s dynamic duo, Carl Vinning and Dave Panarello, may have the Parker Center Console tucked away for the fall but that doesn’t mean there’s no reason for stripers not to fear them. Off came the tarp from the tin boat, the Mudflat, and the catching while trolling a tube-and-worm continues. Dave especially has taken dastardly delight in torturing yours truly as he and his bud have hooked fish up to 30 pounds! They know to target the river systems of Greater Boston, which harbor herring fry and hungry stripers.
Mackerel are pretty easy pickings off Hull, Boston Ledge and Graves Light. A jig under the Sabiki rig could result in a cod. Lisa from Fore River Bait and Tackle in Quincy told of tormented smelt fans who couldn’t get their smelt in on time before being gulped by ravenous stripers. This Quincy all-purpose shop always has grass shrimp on hand and often even live ones. Successful smelt spots as of late have been Hewitts Cove and Pemberton Pier. And again, were you’ll find the smelt you’ll often find stripers!
Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
Joe Holey sent me a picture of a recent slob striper that was boated by “Jason” of Revere. Shaking off the chill is easier when you are finding cows willing to take mackerel and eels from the Nahant into Lynn Harbor. Laura from Ippis in Lynn has a few hardcore anglers still catching stripers off Long Beach in Lynn. These guys revel in the churned-up surf, knowing that the quashed quahogs spell dinner to stripers. Laura informed me that some stick to it into January, when they’ll pick off a cod or two in addition to the occasional striper. Sweetwater action on Sluice Pond has been special for trout, with hopes of picking off a survivor broodstock salmon. Buchanan Pond is a best bet for horned pout. Laura is keeping grass shrimp in stock and some are putting those to good use off the docks of Winthrop. Tomo of Tomos Tackle in Salem told me that the most consistent action is for mackerel off the Gloucester State Pier as well as Salem Willows. There has not been so much as a whisper of a striper during the last week.
New Hampshire and Southern Maine Fishing Report
Chad from Dover Marine in New Hampshire said that even though cod fishing is not allowed in the Gulf of Maine until most likely April, the pollock bite on Jeffreys Ledge is fantastic. His buddy, Jamie, poked around The Fingers and The Cove and on the first drop he came tight to a tandem of dogfish on both the teaser and jig. Things were more promising with pollock on The Cove as the “Boston bluefish” slammed jigs and teasers with equal ferocity. Willand Pond has been hot for both trout and largemouth bass with shiners being the not-so-secret weapon.
Dylan from Dags in Auburn, Maine told me of a tremendous smallie, all of 7 pounds, 13 ounces (3 ounces shy of the state record), which was just taken from an undisclosed water body near the shop. While he could not divulge the exact location, Dylan recommends Canton Lake, Thompson Lake and Middle Range as potential bronzeback bonanzas. And now is the time to fish for those trophies! Smallie sharpies are getting the bass on bladebaits, jigs/skirted soft plastics, lipless crankbaits and the Smithwick Perfect 10!
Best Bets for the Weekend
Sweetwater options are salmon in the Stillwater and Swift Rivers with a Mickey Finn fly being a best bet offering. You’ll be flying solo should you sling serpents in the South River, but there’s nothing wrong with 32-inch stripers for company. If you have a boat at the ready, bounce a jig just outside of Scituate Harbor and you may be rewarded with a tog, cod or both! Mackerel can be found on Stellwagen Bank and you might find tuna out there every bit as interested in the mackerel. The scuttlebutt on smelt is that a few are being found off Hull, Hingham and Winthrop. On the North Shore there’s trout in Sluice Pond and stray stripers grubbing for clams off Long Beach in Lynn. North of the border, Jeffreys Ledge remains promising for pollock, and it’s trophy smallmouth bass time in Southern Maine.
“They know to target the river systems of Greater Boston, which harbor herring fry and hungry stripers.”
without getting into spots / locations, what’s the general principle this time of year – and are we talking larger rivers with deeper channels or relatively shallow estuaries or what?
It’s difficult to delineate between holdover stripers and migrants so we really don’t know which these fish are. But there was once a time when most every river system had a population of winter-over striped bass. Kay from Surfland told me that family members used to trap 20-pound stripers through the ice of the Parker River. And she has even recounted more recent times when fish were taken during the winter from the Merrimack. And if there ever were two more opposite rivers! In my experience and that of my friends, river herring fry (which will be present in some degree into December) are imperative to keep stripers happy. It also doesn’t hurt to have a brackish environment as part of the watershed when the stripers will willingly make a meal out of freshwater fish, especially yellow perch which seem to be a particular favorite. There are no hard rules: I hooked up recently in a totally tidal part of a local river and a few days later caught among dingy fresh water. The one common denominator was that there were 3-4″ river herring fry present! Sticktoitiveness is essential and hard to come by when it’s cold but the bass are out there and as typical of the species they are most active between dawn and dusk – good luck!