During this quintessential American Holiday it’s only fitting that we have choices. If the goal is a tight line and some scrumptious fillets than flounder is your fish. If it’s numbers you are interested in along with some impressive table fare in its own right than squid should be in your future. But if you’d prefer your numbers as they relate to size than there are tales of 50 inch striped bass to discuss!
South Shore
Early morning as well as random surface feeds among the three bays – Plymouth, Kingston and Duxbury – quicken the pulse and beg the question, “how big” before the very first cast even hits the water. To emphasize the “big” factor be on the lookout for pogies which have taken up residence and barring being netted into oblivion will remain here through October. First light is best for procuring pogies and then finding something big enough to eat them. Dave from The Fisherman’s Outfitter in Plymouth recommends just outside of the jetties as well as the turnaround at Long Beach. Honorable mention should go to Clark’s Island, Bug Light and Duxbury Bay toward the Powder Point Bridge. When the sun’s up look eastward and fish those pogies off The Gurnet out along Duxbury Beach. For a fish whose local availability was often referred to as between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, any mackerel is good enough although the catching is inconsistent: vacillating between one stop drops to hour long searches. Regardless chumming certainly stacks the odds in your favor.
Bob from Green Harbor told me of the recent Lions Club striper derby, “Sea to See”, the point of which was to take visually impaired anglers out on the ocean to catch striped bass. The belief was that the best odds were among the sand eel-rich Race Point section of Provincetown so most of the fleet tanked up and sped up in that direction. Except for one seemingly unfortunate vessel whose failed water pump stalled the crew causing them to drift aimlessly just outside of Plymouth. Rather than panic, they fished and ending up finishing first in spite of the boat’s incapacity! Supporting honors have to go to the ubiquitous mackerel which anglers are finding aplenty from the first can outside of Green Harbor all the way to the bank. Speaking of which, some are finding the steam out to Stellwagen worth the time and gas as the groundfishing has improved for both cod and haddock in about 150’ of water. Part of the reason may be the swarms of sand eels which make the feeding easy for all that swims there.
Joel from Belsan’s in Scituate said that schoolies in the North and South Rivers are no problem. But it’s a slow go when larger striped bass are sought. You’ll fare best if you bait-up with live mackerel which have been a Sabiki drop away just outside of the New Inlet Buoy as well as the first buoy when leaving Scituate Harbor. Those scoring the best stripers are deepwater dropping those mackerel in such places as Minot Ledge and Smith Rocks. You should have no problem finding flounder off Peggotty Beach as well as the occasional tautog. Squid do not get a lot of attention on the South Shore but according to Joel there are plenty especially in quieter stretches of the North River.
Greater Boston Fishing Report
While 47” stripers were the highlights of last week’s report it took a full 50” to make news this week. The big bass were caught similarly with both falling for mackerel among boulder field-strewn points which jut into open water. On Wednesday morning Captain Rob Savino put charter “Derek” into 51 ½” and 44-pounds of striped bass which inhaled a live mackerel from the Hull side of the harbor. Rob is finding that it is best to keep on the move until you find the mackerel but the inverse is true with the stripers. His success is coming from pounding places which have produced in the past, especially those with plenty of structure and not far from moving water. George Gikas, a buddy of my friend Joe Holey, caught a 50-pounder on the night of the new moon with a live mackerel among a kelp/boulder filled piece of shoreline on the Winthrop side of Boston Harbor. Interestingly Joe passed on fishing with his pal that night in order to play some cards – you could say he was dealt a losing hand!
You may have to snoop around a bit but you should have no problem finding pogies. On one tide Bob’s Bass Triangle is awash with them and then they’re seemingly gone. The same can be said for Revere or Winthrop: for some odd reason those pogies can’t stay still. There is good reason to go the extra mile for this extra big bait source. Shaun Foley of Winthrop recently epitomized the need to stick with pogies. Over the weekend many were in pursuit of bass with live mackerel in the Broad Sound area and I heard of a number of respectable catches of fish up to 20 pounds. But Shaun stuck a pogy, stayed with it and hooked a moby of a bass which despite giving chase by boat spooled him! It’s a safe bet that that fish was more than 20 pounds.
Rick from Fore River B&T told me of two alternatives for the artificial lure angler. Bobby Pike and his pal Donny are masters at the tube and worm as well as the Cape Cod Spinner and these guys have their trolling pattern down pat. During higher tides they stick to a close to shore trajectory which will often take them from Halftide Rock to Veezie Rock and over to Seal Rock. Sometimes they’ll also track the Weymouth side from Wessagusset Beach through Jacknife Ledge. When the tide is out this duo will target Wreck Rock, Sunken Ledge and out to Quarantine Rocks. While the venue may change the results remain the same, these guys catch stripers!
Captain Jason Colby is beginning to see the main body of blackback flounder drifting off toward deep water. He’s picking up a lot of fish out by Point Allerton and I’ve been on board the Little Sister when we’ve done nicely off Boston Light. The chameleon-like flounder will often take on a mahogany hue as they frequent the bottom here interspersed with red ledge and they look markedly different here. Don’t discount the inshore just yet however, the fish inside are the biggest of the bunch, have little competition and look like they should spend some time working off extra calories at a fat farm. Poke around the flats of the harbor’s inside islands and see if you can’t find that 4-pound balloon blackback which has your name on it! Boaters who have their rigs lit up like Christmas Trees are finding the squid fishing very productive among eddies next to West Gut, Nut Island, Long Island and Spectacle Island.
North Shore Fishing Report
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle told me that squid are increasing in numbers and can now be caught among many piers and docks of the North Shore. In fact if you find a lit pier almost anywhere along the North Shore the chances are good you’ll catch squid. It was nice to hear from Tomo some talk of hickory shad in Salem Harbor. Years ago I was fortunate enough to have the late Pete Koutrakis who owned Pete’s Bait in Beverly for nearly 30 years, as a source of reports, knowledge and experience and he frequently touted the hickory shad there as an unsung local hero making great bait as well as fine sport. Nightime is often the best time to hook these hyper members of the herring family. Try floating one of them under a balloon in the wash of one of the islands or use leadcore and troll them slowly just off the bottom wherever you find depth changes, upwellings or depresssions. Another trolling alternative is around Chandler Hovey Park in Marblehead out to Tom Moore Rock, Tinker’s Island and past Great Pig Rock. Some have been fooled by blitzes in Salem Sound which ended up being little more than mackerel pushing silversides toward the surface.
Boston Harbor is not the only habitat to receive a bounce in blackback numbers. Manchester Harbor as well as Magnolia Harbor have enjoyed revitalized flounder fisheries. Joe Holey described fishing for flounder in such clear water as “sightfishing” for flounder. The water is so clean here that it is common to see flounder chasing down a drifted seaworm and then inhaling it when they catch up. Pete from Fin ‘N Feather in Essex said that the flounder fishing is pretty respectable also in the Essex River peaking the closer it gets to the mouth of the river. Crane’s and Coffin Beaches are worth a shot at flounder also. Beachgoers can often see keeper striped bass prowling the rippled, sandy bottom in search of sand eels or silversides from these beaches as well as Wingaersheek.
According to Kay from Surfland an increase in water temperatures has resulted in a reduced feeding widow for striped bass and have made the fish “spooky” on Joppa Flats as most offerings regardless of how stealthily placed are resulting in fleeing rather than feeding fish. Regardless they are still catching teen-sized fish at the mouth of the Merrimack River, especially on an outgoing top of the tide. Mackerel can be chummed up by Breaking Rocks and outside of Hampton Harbor. Try a nighttime troll along the Parker River Wildlife Reservation especially by Emerson Point. This is a good spot to toss some eels into at night. Another nighttime eel slinging spot is by the 1A Bridge on the Parker River.
Fishing Forecast
Historically, and especially this year, July signals the time of the year when we flip expectations from numbers of striped bass to the possibility of a big one. As long as mackerel are a possibility they matter when hoping for that moby bass from MaryAnn Rocks off Plymouth or Duxbury Beach. Pogies are present in Boston Harbor, their whereabouts at any given time unpredictable but worth the effort in procuring. Live line either pogies or mackerel among the boulder fields of the shorelines of Hull and Winthrop. What has been most predictable is the flounder fishing in Boston Harbor which remains superb. Judging by the charters from New York who are flocking to fish aboard Captain Jason Colby’s Little Sister for limits of flounder, it is obvious that we have one special fishery here! Knockout a North Shore striper with an eel tossed among the structure of Emerson Point or if you’d like some squid in your refrigerator try jigging them up among most any lit pier or wharf from Nahant to Rockport.
Quick Question,
We are going to fish Friday night off Plymouth Beach during the storm. We will be surfcasting and fishing from the beach. We are planning on walking out to the point and back. Which areas of Plymouth Beach should we focus on and what kinds of lures/bait should we be throwing from the beach.
Thanks for any advice and info!!!!
Hey HT, I’m thinking Duxbury Beach my be the better option. It’s a little more east and historically has given up better fish. When cod were plentiful this beach was known as a decent spot to catch cod from shore, it’s a special place. I’d fish it close to High Pine Ledge which can be spotted by the black shoreline rubble. For bait I’d go with clams. The turned up surf will be turning out clam puree and the bass should be looking for a clam meal.
hey guys, how about cape cod and the islands and buzzards bay? No Fish there? No fish in the canal?
I have been out the mouth of Merrimack River a number of times this year. I had not landed a striper all season. This time last year I had a good number of keepers including a few 37 – 42 inch fish. Is the fishing numbers way down for the Merrimack this year or is it just my bad luck. I have been using clams, Mackeral, eels, fishing outgoing tides incoming tides.
It seems that Surfland is not reporting ” blitzes” or ” cows ” being caught like last year. Thanks in advance for any advice. Eric
It’s a bad year just about everywhere from the surf/shore. The bass are in decline as too many are keeping large breeder fish and the stock cannot keep up. It’s a fact no matter what you may read here or anywhere. Yes, there are large pockets of bass here and there, but the boat guys will put a serious dent in those fish as well. It’s not looking good for the future sad to say.
We have been hammering the bass in the mouth on outgoing and incoming. Biggest one 48 inches, average 30. Try adding 2 ounces of weight 3 feet in-front of your bait and bouncing bottom along the North Jetty. I have been using live Mac’s exclusively. My opinion is that the Bass fishing is MUCH better this year than the last few. At twilight, with the right tide we have had bass breaking from half tide rock to the jetty’s.
Eric, your experience is echoed by others a million fold! There are simply less stripers along the eastern seaboard than past years. Many, especially we who lived through it in the 80’s, believe it’s a direct result of overfishing/mismanagement of the stock. We can only hope authorities finally act next year and decisively enough for the fish to rebound. The caveat is that the bass will have to recover in the face of a lot more anglers fishing for them than 30 years ago AND there are far less pogies which provided fuel for the recovery. However, there are still striped bass swimming out there and some monsters at that. Myself, I can hardly wait for the next time I’m fishing for them, I hope you keep trying!
No doubt there Ron! large schools of striped bass averaging 20-26 inches is very promising for next season though! Tight lines!
Hi Ron,
On a resoant scuba dive, my brother told me the water in and around the Boston harbor was very cold (37′) at 30′-40′. Maybe that’s the reason I’m having such a hard time finding black sea bass in the harbor this year?
All favorite spots came up with only one or two! Maybe its just the bait the lack of (squid) this year in the area?
I know its early, I guess, I just got used to the last five years! Ron, I know you have striped bass on the brain these days!
So what do you think?
Jim K.
Ok let’s see if we can figure out this fish shortage.
We strive to catch and keep the BIGGEST stripers which are, invariably, the FEMALE-BREEDERS.
We allow the capture of Menhaden (Pogies) and Herring (Stripers mainstay) for cat food and other livestock feed.
We are still allowing the egg-laden females to be pursued in spawning season, and allowing them to be kept!
So we demolish the food base and we kill the breeders and we refuse to accept responsibility for anything. How does that seem for an explanation? Sorta like the Codfish problem all over again where we scrape the bottom clean, disturbing the holding grounds, keep WAY more fish than we can use and then we wonder wher did they go? Hmmm: Humans at work.
I live by Red Rock park in Lynn,I constantly see certain people keeping schools also.I also think the boat guys should not be keeping every “keeper” they catch.
Ron I’ve been fishing Gloucester to Beverley north to the Merrimack … I have not caught a significant amount of fish all year I mainly troll mackerel . Also drift them . What’s going on here the bait is stacked and there’s no bass on them!
SO MY FISHING SEASON HAS BEEN DISMAL, SALTWATER ATLEAST SINCE I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO GET OUT MUCH THIS SEASON SINCE IM IN BOSTON FOR THE SUMMER… I HEAR THOUGH THAT QUINCY, WINTHROP BEACH & ALSO OFF THE BLACK FLACON PEIR IN S. BOSTON MAY BE SOME GOOD PLACES LOCALLY TO FISH.. ANY SPOTS LOCALLY YOU THINK I SHOULD TRY???
THANKS…
Agree with the striped bass concerns. We’re hammering these fish. Yes, there’s still a good healthy fishery but the quantity of quality fish is obviously diminishing year over year. If you know what you’re doing and have the tools, you’ll always be able to catch your share regardless of the state of the fishery.
We should have a slot and not give in to industry lobbying to make more money by removing more of these fish (join the Coastal Conservation Association – CCA, if you want a voice at the policy level).
I’m for tightening the recreational regs as well and would be happy with 1 fish per person per day and a 28 – 42″ slot. That’s still a really big fish and more than enough for a great big meal. Release the big breeding fish, which have exponentially more egg producing capacity than fish just slightly smaller in size.
That said, if you’re relatively new to striper fishing and you’re not catching them, change your tactics! They are around. Try fishing at night if you have not. Stay on the move. Try new areas. And fish smaller if you’re only fishing big 😉 1/4 oz jig head and 4″ plastic on up to a 9″ sluggo, for example. If in doubt, seek out current + structure with deeper water nearby. Pay attention to the tide, more often than not, moving tide is better than slack tide.
Completely agree with the tighter regulations. The slot should be around 28″-36″ though. Let the bigger ones swim away!! Take a quick picture for the wall of fame and then release the big girls. The fishery is suffering and instead of talking we all have to take action to make a change…..
Tight Lines everyone!!!!
agree with most here regarding slot limits and 1 fish per rec.fishing. Im pretty sure mother nature did not account for the illegal aliens bagging full knapsacks full of short fish in the 80’s. .Also the squid by the bucketfuls . Call d.f.w. and you will get exactly what i got the mealy mouthed feigned astonishment at such accusations lol .sad to watch my country in such a state of w.t.f. and no one with the cahoneys to enforce the laws…
28″ – 36″ would be fine. Even a two fish limit with that slot would be a huge improvement.
BTW, illegals keeping short fish (or “legals” for that matter – if you’re littering and keeping shorts what does it matter how you got here?) is nothing compared to the damage caused by huge processing ships sucking up pogies and turning them into cat food and lipstick, or legislation crafted by a lobby rep that frees up commercial interests to allow fertilizer to run off into bay tributaries and choke the bottom of the food chain, or raising the catch limit on commercial trawlers etc.
the problem there is, and I agree to a slot limit .. is following Maine’s guidelines… the 28 to 40″ fish are the better healthier breeders than a cow of 40″ and above. they might have more eggs but from I recall reading awhile ago from some Chesapeake bay report they are not as fertile eggs. Maine has a great program to allow food to be taken but allow the stocks to be replenished whether its bass, lobster etc.
but as someone said I read reports from RI and other places where boat fisherman see a large school of bunker and just come in and net tons of it away. so taking the food source isn’t great either
It seems if it can be taxed, our politicians look the other way. Look at what the herring persaners out of Gloucester did to that food source a few years back. If we could only organize better we could make an impact, especially around election time. I have commercially fished for stripers, and thought that last seasons extended period was unnecessary as porgies were quite scarce, and commercially over fished also. Tight-lines!
Have to agree. Time to protect the breeders, and reign in the pogie/herring industry.
I agree with the slot limit but i also think you should be allowed to keep one or two fish a year over 42 inches. because if you catch a world record or a fish of a fish of a life time you should be able to keep that fish. they should have tags for the big ones and you should recieve one or two when you get your license. and they should have the big ones checked at at bait shops just like they check deer at deer checking stations. it should work just like an antlerless deer permit. but then you’ll still have people not following the rules and keeping breeders regardless so it is a losing battle and something really needs to be done to prevent the species from going into a shortage like in the 80s. They also need to increase the number of game wardens. I had to fish the cape cod canal over 1500 times in my life and only probably saw 5 game wardens and I havent been checked for a license by any of them.
That’s the biggest problem Tyler!! There are not many game wardens around at all and my father and I have hardly ever seen one down at the canal. They really need to step up the game and become a little stricter.
Tight Lines
P.S- one of the biggest issues right now is the commercial guys fishing on boats in the canal. They are jigging from the sagamore bridge all the way out of the east end. That absolutely ridiculous and that’s exactly why we need stricter regs!!!
Anyone catching any fish out of Plymouth lately? Going to try and throw the old cast net tommorrow morn until my arm falls off…need some bait…LOL!
No, we have not Walleye. Fishing has been pretty tough lately. There has been the occasional bird pile but the fish don’t seem to be wanting to bite. I don’t know what’s been going on lately. Have you been catching anything lately???
Tight Lines