Massachusetts Fishing Report 6-19-14

Pogies! The one bait source above all that has an almost hypnotic effect on striped bass and the anglers who pursue them have arrived in solid numbers in the Greater Boston area. Unlike mackerel, which are mainly tinkers now, there is an edge to live-lining pogies. That edge comes from knowing that little fish need not apply and at any given moment that bass of your lifetime could explode on it—provided that the pogy can avoid the choppers of the big blues, which are present also.

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

While I have no confirmation, considering that pogies have taken up residence in The Hub, I would not be surprised if they are flipping on the surface in the Duxbury area. It takes a trained eye and a sharp, weighted treble hook to procure a few, but one on the hook is as close to a guaranteed solid striper or bluefish as you’ll find in these parts. Dave from The Fisherman’s Outfitter in Plymouth said that he was into decent action for stripers while chunking mackerel off Long Beach. While not quite as numerous as a few weeks ago, mackerel can still be jigged out beyond the 1 Can outside of Plymouth Harbor. Trolling macks, umbrella rigs and tubes should get you some stripers by Clarks Island, Saquish, and on higher tides the Cowyard and Cordage Channel. Some are complaining about the swarms of smaller fish. The antidote for that is bunker spoons which are big slab spoon which has a lot of wobble and can be a cow killer. Dave recommends trolling those spoons beyond the power plant, next to Bug Light and by High Pine Ledge off Duxbury Beach.

A regular at Green Harbor Bait & Tackle in Marshfield hauled in a 45-pound bass on an umbrella rig trolled by Peaked Hill Bar off Truro. Chunk mackerel has been effective from the shore at Rexhame Beach and Berks Beach. First light action off the beaches has been pretty good with blue/white Atom poppers. If you’re looking for mackerel you should have no problem finding them just past the 6 can outside of Green Harbor. Some are catching stripers by drifting them in close on an outgoing tide by the narrows or farther out by Howland Ledge. Other good options for mackerel are Blackman Point and Farnham Rock. Bluefish are occupying the niche of “ghost” of Green Harbor. Anglers talk in terms of an unseen adversary chomping their mackerel in half and then – nothing! It wouldn’t be a bad idea to pack some steel leaders with you just in case. With increased striper presence the spotlight is off flounder. For those who are limiting out on blackbacks they couldn’t be happier.

There are loads of mackerel just outside of Scituate in 30 feetof water according to Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate. Drifting those mackerel throughout the sprawling estuary from the mouths of the South River, North River throughout the Third and Fourth Cliffs is like money when the offering is a live mackerel. Bigger bass have moved into the area with a spate of catches between 20 to 28 pounds. Justin Fine took a 28 pounder off The Glades on a mackerel. Two-pound snapper blues, which are pan-fried bliss, are swarming throughout Scituate. Those tossing the Daddy Mac Albie/Bonito jig are having a hard time keeping them off it. Flounder fishing throughout Scituate and Cohasset Harbors remains fantastic. One angler who hails from Rhode Island where flounder are now rare does very well poking around the Scituate area and his “secret” bait is nightcrawlers!

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Unless you were marooned on a desert island during the last week, you probably heard of my friend Russ Burgess’ 55-pound striper he took last Thursday. Unfortunately, once word got out he was besieged by a mob of anglers on the water. The traffic was so bad that he did what he seldom does – he quit before the duration of the tide. To make matters worse, someone stole from the back of his truck the very plug he caught that monster on, a bunker brown BigWaterLures Giant Pike. I have bad news for those looking for instant gratification: it took Russ 40 years to hone his craft! The best way for you to learn from the best is to be respectful, keep your distance and put your time into it – there are no shortcuts to a 55-pound striper and there shouldn’t be. Odds are if a successful angler sees you putting in the time and being respectful, he’ll help shorten your learning curve by giving your priceless advice.

Prior to his 55, Russ had logged untold hours poking around the harbor for a full six weeks. And what did he have to show for it? Six fish, that was it! But he did not give up, and the results speak for themselves. Nine times out of ten, nighttime is the right time, a big target that a big fish will notice such as one of Gary Soldati’s bat-sized plugs sure helps, and above all—put in your time. And if you’re wondering what that old cow had been eating, in addition to mackerel its stomach contents revealed a skate – spiny tail and all!

Patrons of Hull Bait & Tackle caught a bunch of big bass last week, according to Lauren. Top was a 48”, 40-pounder taken on a live mackerel. Pam from MSBA caught nearly the mirror image of that fish – a 48”, 39-pound, 14-ounce striper, also on live mackerel. The ledges off Hull are likely spots to lure in that large linesider. Also check out Gunrock Beach as well as Black Rock Beach. Double-digit blues have been bested by those trolling swimming plugs between Minot Light and the B-Buoy. There are pogies around, and live-lining one usually results in violence, whether from the ferocious tail slap of a big bass or the crushing bite of a bluefish. Flounder continue to please with limits a possibility for even the weekend angler. The northwest wind will often reduce feeding but should the blow be favorable look for flatties to have the feedbag on among Cohasset Harbor and Hull Harbor.

Rick from Fore River B&T in Quincy told me that increasingly Nut Island is the place to fish. Black sea bass, squid, flounder and striped bass are all being caught from the pier. Try dropping a green crab over the side since in the past good-sized tautog have been taken here. There’s a lot of big fish being taken in the Quincy area with trollers doing best. Fore River B&T is the unofficial center for the Cape Cod Spinner, which has been an awesome striper slayer for generations of anglers. Not surprisingly patrons of the shop are catching with these spiced with seaworms. Troll up a few bass for yourself around Veezie Rock, Jacknife Ledge, Hangman Island and Wreck Rock. For flounder steer clear of the fleet and target hidden gems around Spectacle, Thompson, Slate, Grape and Bumpkin Islands.

Captain Rob Savino of CJ Victoria is finding fish for patrons up to 40 pounds by jigging up mackerel and then fishing them right on the surface with no weight whatsoever. Mack attacks can happen at any moment from Nahant’s 2 Can out toward the BG Buoy, chumming (cat food will do!) often makes a huge difference. Try the macks around Green Island, Calf and Little Calf Island. Inshore, especially at low light toss those mackerel among the wharves of Deer Island or troll among the coves.

We may be on the cusp of a big black sea bass invasion. While out catching limits of fat flounder in Quincy Bay aboard the Little Sister with my pals Captain Jason Colby, Jeff Kotnik and Alan Sharaf, a lobsterman happened by and remarked that he found some pots occupied with “humphead” sea bass and held out his hands far apart to a chorus of whistles!

Carl Vining and Dave Panarello took out Steve Langton and his buddy Mark and once again demonstrated that they have the Midas touch by putting Steve into a 35-pounder! Ironically Steve bucked conventional wisdom by casting an Arkansas shiner Fin-S Fish into a school of pogies and culled out that cow. I’ve got fresh Intel of a slug of big bass pushing inshore from the B Buoy, picking off mackerel on route to perhaps a pogy slaughter – this weekend could be crazy!

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

My friend Joe Holey texted me some photos the other day of his brother Marc and buddy Dan with some killer bluefish and 20-pound plus stripers which were part of a roving mob massacring mackerel as well as pogies throughout the Winthrop, Revere, Lynn stretch. The threesome caught fish inshore and among the whitewash of the crags of Nahant with Bailey’s Hill especially productive. More recently the bite was awesome off Short Beach and Nahant Beach and some of the fish were 46” long. Seldom do we have such a sweet conundrum: does one jig up the mackerel and fish them for the bass or seek out the pogy schools and see what’s prowling around them? The answer is in what size fish you’re after; while the pogies are the size of your hand the mackerel have been reduced to tinkers!

Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem told me that there is terrific tautog fishing among non-descript rockplies throughout Beverly and Salem and the kayak crew is picking away at them. These fish are slow-growing and not populous in this area; consider releasing a good percentage of what you catch. I’ve been catching tog on the North Shore since 1985 – my first one was a 10-pound whopper whitechin – and while I seldom release a keeper in Buzzards Bay, here where there are far fewer I release those blackfish so they will make more blackfish! Captain Jason Colby does the same in Boston Harbor. Trolling a tube and worm has been effective around the ledges of Swampscott and Marblehead. Mackerel can be found off Salem Willows and for boat guys between Salem Harbor and Halfway Rock. Some are catching bass with the macks as close in as the Lead Mills with a better bet being by Bakers and Misery Islands. Tomo heard of a 50” behemoth which blasted a live mackerel off Nahant.

There are also solid reports of striped bass in Manchester Harbor, Coffin Beach at the Annisquam outflow and Cranes Beach at its union with the Essex River.

Liz from Surfland in Newburyport said that the shop has weighed in fish to 25 pounds recently with the go-to spot being the beachfront and the lure of choice the SP Minnow. Another alternative is needlefish at lower tides and at low light when bass mistake this for one of the plentiful sand eels which live among the sandbars of Plum Island. Needlefish also are a good alternative on an outgoing tide at the mouth of the Merrimack River where the Captains Fishing Charters fleet keep their boats. A few flounder are being picked off from shore but Liz has a hunch that if boater was to target the outside edge of the sand flats than they would find plenty of flounder.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Weeks ago the goal was to find the mackerel, which made the catching of striped bass a lot easier. But that was before the pogies arrived. If you have a bunker spoon at the ready try trolling outside of Plymouth or Duxbury Beach; when big fish are looking for big bait they will hit that lure.

Live mackerel off the ledges of Hull is a hot tip in lieu of recent 40-pounder being taken this way. Of course something can always be said for trolling a big wooden metal lip among Nixes Mate, Lions Rock, Deer Island and Bob’s Bass Triangle.

Flounder fishing remains fantastic and there might be some big black sea bass mixing it up with the blackback flounder among mussel beds, rockpiles and wrecks of Quincy Bay.

Look for pogies off Wollaston Beach, Winthrop Harbor, Revere Beach, Lynn Harbor, Nahant and Salem Harbor. Numbers are swelling and we just may be invaded by a big school of big bass that was encountered just inshore of the B-Buoy on Thursday morning!

Nahant has been hot, with mackerel the ticket for a trophy striper. Squid are more numerous now off most any pier between Nahant and Gloucester. SP Minnows have been dynamite off Plum Island Beach with the nod going to needlefish when the bass are grubbing on sand eels at the mouth of the Merrimack River.