Massachusetts Fishing Report 6-12-14

Ringo Starr once sang (and occasionally still does) a little ditty called, “It don’t come easy.” And that about describes the state of striped bass affairs in 2014. It’s no longer a “gimme” and the odds are that you’ll have to work for your catch. Hopefully the 35-pound fish that have recently been caught and the break-off of bigger still will provide you incentive to employ a stick-to-itiveness mindset. A school of bluefish blew through Boston, slicing and dicing live mackerel and reminding what an awesome gamefish these are. Elsewhere, the flatfishing is still fine and there are a few black sea bass providing a nice alternative.

Massachusetts South Shore Report

Bob Pronk of Green Harbor Bait and Tackle in Marshfield gives us a ½-mile worth of hope this week, since that was the estimated swath of 40-inch-plus bass that patrons of the shop got into recently. The fish apparently weren’t fussy hitting everything from mackerel to topwater lures. Could they be pushing northward? Some blues in the area are giving mackerel seekers the “blues” as they’ve scattered the baitfish. You can still catch your mackerel fill provided that you’re an early riser and you chum as you go. Flounder continue to provide a fun alternative in Green Harbor and in a number of places where people are poking around. They are another fish that responds well to a nice chum slick.

Dave from The Fisherman’s Outfitter in Plymouth told me of anglers who were scoring 40-inch stripers off White Horse Beach on clams. Nearby Priscilla Beach has also had fish lurking not far from Flag Rock. Duxbury Beach has also been productive. Hot artificial alternatives have been the Savage Sand Eel and Savage Manic Prey. Trollers working a tube-and-worm are doing well by Warren Cove. Bluefish are putting on a show just outside of the Pilgrim Power Plant. For a mackerel fix drop your Sabiki just outside of the green 1 can.

Pete from Belsan Bait in Scituate has some customers enjoying a badly needed spike in inshore cod numbers. There’s even been talk of limiting out on both rock cod and white bellies up to 33” long. The hot spot has been east of Minots Light in water of at least 30’ deep. Relatively light jigs such as the Daddy Mac XL 7 have been the ticket. Roving packs of blues have put flight into mackerel schools making them tougher to come by but the hordes of harbor pollock make finding bait no problem. When asked where to find the pollock, Pete said, “any rockpile”, the fish are that numerous. Drifting pollock among the cliffs is a good option as is floating them into the stirred up surf near structure off Egypt Beach and The Glades. Fallback herring still hold stripers in the North River.

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report

Mackerel remains the “default” bait for bass with schools most consistently found between the BG and B Buoys. Some, however, are being jigged up by Devils Back as well as the area between the 2 Can off Nahant out toward Egg Rock. And there are some big bass with those mackerel as anglers live-lining the macks on site have found. Some fish have been taken with the mackerel off Governors Island, Spectacle Island, Deer Island and off Winthrop Beach. The Weymouth Fore River and Weymouth Back River are good bets especially if you have a few mackerel in a livewell or have fresh chunks. Lisa from Fore River Bait and Tackle in Quincy has patrons who are trolling umbrella rigs with 4-inch pearl shads at the mouths of the rivers and catching bass feeding on the fall-back blueback herring. Mike Holey broke off a moby which was estimated to be at least 40 pounds Wednesday night on mackerel near Seal Harbor. His crew did land a few respectable fish between 28 and 34 inches. The Winthrop stretch between the Standpipe out to the breaker off Beachmont has been among the more steady striper producers. My friend Captain Russ Burgess has been trolling his oversized BigWaterLures wooden pikes under cover of darkness and is usually picking off one mid- to upper 40-inch fish for his efforts. He’s doing his homework now in preparation for the 16th Annual Boston Harbor Striper Shootout, which takes place this Saturday. Aside from being a festive affair which showcases many of the harbor’s elite bass anglers, a portion of the proceeds is donated to the Soldiers Home in Chelsea. Of course the $3,000 top prize is nothing to sneeze at!

Captain Jason Colby and crew continue to limit out with regularity and are also regularly boating 3-pound blackbacks. Even better is what I’m hearing from the average angler who is reporting limits of flounder from the usual haunts such as Hospital Shoals, Deer Island Flats and Sculpin Ledge. Poke around for what are “under the radar” gems. We tried Snake Island in Winthrop a few weeks ago and found flatfish there up to 17 inches in two separate spots near the island.

Massachusetts North Shore Report

Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem told some favorable flounder tails when we spoke about Lynn, Nahant and Swampscott. There’s even some buzz on blackback limits! The North Shore is hardly immune to mackerel hysteria as a Sabiki rig is the ticket to topping off the livewell out beyond Bakers, Misery and Children’s islands. Anglers working them under a balloon in tight to the structure are being rewarded with mid to upper 30-inch fish. Mackerel are also making magic off Marblehead where they are wooing stripers as when trolled by Tinkers Island. Those targeting squid at the Commericial Street Pier, Beverly Pier and Salem Willows are picking off about a dozen cephalopods on most nights. The squid are also attracting black sea bass, some of which have been caught by the Jubilee Yacht Club.

Pete from Fin and Feather in Essex said that in the past week the North Shore has gone on a tear. The size fish has jumped up by about 10 inches and keeper fish are absolutely no problem! The bite seems to be taking place everywhere. The Essex River has been great, Cranes Beach also as has been super as has the backside of Cranes. Patrons hitting the ocean front of Plum Island have been taking nice bass also with some taping out at 42 inches. Good news is coming in from Magnolia, Manchester, Gloucester—you name it! But right up there in the good news category is what you might call the rebirth of a legend. Pete conspired with his friends at Surfland to bring back the “halfbeak”! As in the blue back/yellow belly Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow which was as deadly a topwater bait as there was on the north shore. The color had been discontinued and along with that anglers disappointed but now it is back and crushing the bass again. And you can find it at both Fin and Feather as well as Surfland.

Mike from Surfland in Newburyport told me the outgoing tide is producing at the mouth of the Merrimack River, especially at the point by the Captains Fishing Charter. But for big fish, the word from the wash is that the beach is best where catches up to 25 pounds have recently been made. SP Minnows are slaying stripers as well as the previously mentioned Jumpin’ Minnow. As usual the bait brigade are catching at off the sands of the Parker River Wildlife Reservation.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Should some of that mega-school of nice bass off Race Point spin off toward the South Shore, then the bays of Plymouth/Kingston and Duxbury could go off! If you’re craving cod, check out the crags off Minots Light where you may be gifted with a double-digit cod as well as your limit. Flounder limits remain reasonable in Boston Harbor, but if you seek bigger blackbacks, poke around sandy/muddy tracts among the inner islands. The North Shore could just be the hottest place for stripers, with great action from the Essex and Merrimack rivers as well as the beaches of Cranes and Plum Island.