Massachusetts Fishing Report 8-7-14

The dog in the Dog Days of Summer is beginning to act as if it had obedience training. The “season of less stripers” has received a badly needed shot in the arm by a surge of fish that, according to a DMF Biologist, cruised in from offshore locations such as Stellwagen Bank. Regardless of the origins, it’s nice to have them “back where they belong!”

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Tom Hennigan, who occasionally hops aboard my friend Captain Jason Colby’s Little Sister, told me that he saw a 5-pound black sea bass hoisted onto Powder Point Bridge in Duxbury recently! He also received word that a tight-lipped bunch have been actively catching blackback flounder outside of Clarks Island and Browns Bank.

Regarding toothy flounder, Dave from The Fisherman’s Outfitter in Duxbury said that anglers are picking them up by drifting among channel edges of the “three bays,” with squid strips being the preferred bait. And most of the fish are keepers! I’m taken to dogfish strips myself; that tough skin will last through fish after fish with infrequent needs to re-bait. Some anglers are even casting Spro Jigs from Long Beach and getting them. Dave recommends you keep binoculars handy and keep on the watch for surface feeds among the three bays that randomly pop-up, especially in the morning. Those yearning for live bait should look in the vicinity of the Plymouth Marina where tinker mackerel have been cruising around.

Bob from Green Harbor in Marshfield told me that there are almost more places and ways to catch stripers than he could list! But he gave it a good go anyway. Kids on summer break are catching all the schoolies and small keepers they can handle while trolling tubes with kayaks or small skiffs in Green Harbor. The nighttime stalkers are getting the occasional 40-inch-plus fish off the jetties while tossing eels. The beach brigade is chunking mackerel and having fun from the beaches, such as Duxbury, Berks Beach, Humarock Beach and Rexhame Beach. The lack of bluefish has been a bonus in that mackerel appear to be comfortable enough to last out the season. Chumming matters with the macks, and you will outfish the non-chummer most every time. Bass are not usually found with the mackerel but rather among inshore rocks, bars, mussel beds and bowls. Check out Bluefish Cove as well as Beetle Rock and Brewer Ledge.

Unexpectedly, cod have reappeared inshore. This is the case on the South Shore and through the North Shore. An unexpected niche has allowed them to flourish. Recreational anglers have in many cases given up on cod, but not all! And commercial interests show little desire to put in the time and money to target the relatively small clusters of cod that live inshore. This has resulted in a boon for the few inshore fisherman who are clamming and jigging for cod among irregular bottom in waters sometimes 60 feet or less! Joel from Belsan’s Bait in Scituate said that surprising numbers of nice tog have been taken with seaworms by those poking around the four cliffs. Those same cliffs are rewarding striper sleuths who live line mackerel among “live bottom.”

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report

Laurel from Hull Bait and Tackle had such good news to tell me she almost didn’t know where to begin! Numerous anglers are all reporting the same thing – they are catching stripers and some big ones at that. You can jig up mackerel out by Martins Ledge and troll them along Point Allerton, Strawberry Ledge and all along Nantasket Beach out to Gunrock Beach. There have been many stripers up to the mid-40-inch range taken along this shoreline recently. Hull Gut is also hot! I’ve had killer outings at Hull Gut with Jason Colby by three-waying eels there at night on an outgoing tide or fishing a Lucanus or Crippled Herring by day. Boaters are besting bass at night at Black Rock Beach with eels! And the flounder fishing remains fantastic with limits from Hull Harbor, Rainsford Island and near Hangman Island.

Lisa from Fore River in Quincy told me that two of the surest spots are the mouths of the Weymouth Back and Fore Rivers, where folks are finding keeper bass on chunk mackerel as well as squid. Some anglers are experiencing multi-species outings with black sea bass, squid and flounder all taken during one tide in the Nut Island area. Snapper blues swarm local marinas and they make fine fluke bait. Jig some up and try drifting them behind an egg sinker off Pemberton Pier as well as by the Coast Guard Station. Also consider the south side of Peddock Island as well as Rainsford Island.

Paul from Bob’s Bait Shack in Winthrop told me that the shop has retained its fresh pogy roots and has a stable of partners who net pogies locally with gill nets for the shop. Why should “crunchy” pogies matter to you? Maybe because by many standards a fresh dead pogy is the best big bass bait that there is! And the Winthrop shoreline could quite possibly be the best Greater Boston location for surfcasters looking to catch a cow! The Deer Island Jetty on an outgoing tide with the head portion of the pogy is a high-percentage way to catch big bass. Also, check out the seawall at higher tides. The Yirrell Beach side is boulder-strewn and commercial guys have been targeting this stretch for years. Boaters should drag a tube-and-worm through Yirrell Beach and out past the bars below the striped water tower. Shore guys tossing out clams here at night have been nearly spooled, broken off and beaten by bruiser bass. While clams are good, I’d stick to a big piece of fresh pogy or mackerel instead. Flounder can still be found by Deer Island Flats and the 4 Can, and a pal of Paul’s hauled in a monster fluke off Snake Island. That place begs to be fished with snapper blues, which can be found among the East Boston marinas.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem told me that mackerel are no problem between Misery and Baker Islands. Try live lining those macks among structure such as Sammy Rock and Dolphin Rock outside of Devereux Beach. In Salem Sound there are occasional surface feeds peppered with dead outings. Squid have returned in better numbers from the Beverly Pier and Salem Willows. The most unusual news is the cod catch the kayak guys are making among inshore structure and then snapping very interesting selfies. All indications are that cod are making a slight inshore comeback. It might be time to revisit humps, bumps and clumps outside of Swampscott and Marblehead. Nahant deserves a nod also between the East Point and Saunders Ledge. Less than 10 years ago, this stretch was amazingly hot and the best bait believe it or not was green crabs! It may deserve a look once again.

Peter from Fin and Feather in Essex said that anglers are catching stripers in three distinct ways. Those who target the Essex River are catching plenty of schoolies with the Ocean Lures Sand Eel. Some are jumping around and pounding beaches such as Pebble, Cape Hedge and Long Beaches and finding some winning episodes with the mackerel colored Ocean Lures Swimming Baitfish. And then there are those who make the long haul and hoof out to the mouth of the Essex River on Coffins Beach or Cranes Beach and are rewarded for their perseverance with one or two big bass per evening!

Kay from Surfland told me that the Parker River Wildlife Reservation has been reloaded with nice striped bass! The talk has even turned to 40-pound fish. Boaters have the easier go by trolling or casting serpents by the shoreline where the remnants of Camp Safe Haven remain, by Emerson Rocks as well as Sandy Point. Shore guys have a tougher go due to access restrictions near the piping plover nesting areas. Restrictions regarding our feathery friends should be lifted very soon. Another location worth a try is at the 1A Bridge on the Parker River. Fresh mackerel or a lively eel should fool some stripers here.

Fishing Forecast

For flounder fortune, expect luck with the winter variety by Browns Bank, Scituate Harbor and Hull Harbor. For the toothy incarnation, load up on snapper blues among the marinas and three-way them by Clarks Island, Pemberton Pier or in Lynn Harbor. Striper fishing is red hot off Hull and Winthrop with boat guys besting them with live mackerel while shoreline chunkers do well with pogies and clams. On the North Shore, you may feel like seeking squid from Salem or Beverly, stripers from the Parker River Reserve, or check out the burgeoning inshore kayak cod craze among ledges in Salem/Beverly and probably Nahant, Swampscott and Marblehead.