Weeks into the spring run, the “smurf stripers” are being joined by drag-pullers. Rivers full of blueback herring prove an irresistible draw for famished bass compelled to consume calories. Boaters who are catching bass are employing two techniques: chase random feeds or jig up the mackerel and watch those stripers turn into Kamikazes with scales. The flounder fishing has improved with the blackback fun not being limited to just Boston.
Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report
Pete from Belsan’s Bait in Scituate gives us promise this week of a wave of mackerel that may touch down inshore by this weekend. The cod cadre on Stellwagen Bank is having a hard time sinking their wares past the macks – they are that numerous and aggressive. Anglers putting the time and elbow grease into their Sabiki rigs are finding macks outside of the New Inlet Buoy at the mouth of the North River. As of yet, there have not been many bass on site with the macks, and even stranger there have been no reports of a 20-pound plus fish as of yet.
Your best bet is to target the rivers full of blueback herring; all that bait is a bass magnet. Teen-sized fish have been taken by the James Landing section of the North River. Pete says that the go-to lure is the Daddy Mac baby Viper, a multi-segmented swim bait that has Kevlar connecting the sections. An awful lot of shops are touting this local lure maker.
Flounder limits are now no big deal, especially in Scituate Harbor. Bob Pronk of Green Harbor Bait and Tackle in Marshfield reported encouraging flounder catches right from docked boats in Green Harbor! Anglers drifting between the jetties and the first green can are finding flounder also. At this time I’m always a bit torn as I obsess about all things striper I know that now is the best time for a blackfish as they aggregate in estuaries and bays to breed. Not surprisingly a patron of Green Harbor came tight to a titan of a tautog off of Blackman’s Point but lost the fish at boatside. Bob is selling a lot of shad darts as the run in the Indian Head River picks up speed. Some are finding the shad frustrating as they are stealthy in the skinny water. Low light is the key, especially dusk to dawn when the shad will let their guard down and your bite rate will rise exponentially.
Greater Boston Fishing Report
The fifth annual “Zobo” flounder fishing tournament sponsored by Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett was a lot of fun. We of Captain Jason Colby’s Team Little Sister Charters in Quincy came in second and third place, and I only lost to the first place fish by less than an ounce. I’ve either topped the ticket or come in second place three of the four years I’ve entered it. Above all, the thanks have to go to Captain Colby who has an unerring nose for most anything that swims, especially flounder. Regardless, I’m doing something a little differently which may help you in your pursuit of a doormat. I like that Zobo rig because it places one of the baits up high in the field of vision of the flounder, especially the bigger, more aggressive flounder. Secondly I place an ESCA blinking green light attractant by the top hook, and not surprisingly every single time the larger fish rise off the bottom and slam that top bait! Flounder are curious, visual creatures–that is why the flounder faithful stir up the bottom by pounding it with their sinker and they employ gaudy beads and sometimes even paint their sinkers yellow. That blinking light on that ESCA rings the dinner bell for big blackbacks. All is not good however, since I cannot find any evidence that the company, ESCA global, is still in existence. I’m searching for clues and should I find any I’ll pass it on. Meanwhile if you find some, snap those babies up!
The flounder fishing is far better than last year and we are finding pockets of fish scattered throughout Hull, Quincy, Boston and Winthrop. If you poke around you’ll probably find your own pocket of fish and probably of better quality than what they’re finding at the boat show at Deer Island Flats.
Mackerel are now easy pickings by the outer islands of the harbor, especially east of Boston Light. So far there have been few feeds associated with the forage but that could change by this weekend. You’ll fare better with those mackerel if you three-way them by Hull Gut or drift/cast them by Quarantine Rocks.
Just in, bass up to 44 inches have been reported for those pitching mackerel up against upstream structure in the river herring runs! Pre-moratorium river herring were money, and live mackerel are just as good wherever the bass are binging on bluebacks.
North Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report
According to Tomo of Tomos Tackle in Salem, the ink stains on Beverly Pier are a pretty positive indicator that the squid are in. They’re also picking up a few flounder there as well as both species off Salem Willows Pier. The shoreline of Swampscott is giving up flounder as well as stripers and bass are also in the Danvers River. Keeper sized bass are falling for Ocean Lures Sand Eels off Cranes Beach as well as the Essex and Ipswich Rivers.
Noel from Bridge Street Sports in Salem said that they are catching squid from the Salem Willows Pier and the Beverly Pier. The former is also a reliable spot to catch some, if not a lot, of mackerel. It’s schoolie heaven on the North Shore as hordes of the small guys are hitting aggressively. Look for the micro linesiders by Pope’s Landing behind Salmon Joes and randomly throughout Beverly and Salem Harbors.
Dave from Merrimac Sports told me that bass up to 44 inches are bunched up on river herring at the Lawrence Dam. Shad are stacked as well from the Dam to the effluence of the Shawsheen River. Upstream of the dam, there’s no shortage of willing smallmouth bass as well as the occasional pike. Liz from Surfland in Newburyport said that keeper-sized striped bass have finally figured into the mix. They are hitting bait from Parking Lot 1 of the Parker River Wildlife Reservation as well as “tin” and Bill Hurley’s Cape Cod Sand Eels from the ocean front not far from the shop. The portion of the Merrimack where the charter boats are docked is fishing well but for those big bass at the dam, Liz recommends the NTA Custom slugger-sized pencil popper. By the way, Surfland is now the Northshore outlet for StormR outerwear. Liz said that the new breathable Fusion lineup is getting rave reviews.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Your best bet for a big bass is to jig up a mackerel and drift them along the South or North rivers. For artificial purists, try working the Eel River or the mouth of the Town Brook in Plymouth with a convincing artificial such as the Daddy Mac Viper. Flounder are on the feed in Green Harbor, Scituate Harbor and Boston Harbor. While you’re at it, be vigilant for a blackfish – they are inshore breeding and they will feed. From the Lawrence dam out to its mouth, the Merrimack River may be the North Shore’s hottest striper location at the moment.
where the macks at
…Off Gurnet in Plymouth.