Massachusetts Fishing Report | September 4th, 2014

It’s easy to get lulled into thinking the striped bass is king in these parts until you hear reports of a 9-hour, white-knuckled battle with a giant tuna waged within view of anglers trolling for stripers. If you have the intestinal fortitude and equipment, then top off your livewell with whiting, mackerel or even bluefish and live-line them at depth edges from Stellwagen through Peaked Hill Bar. One long-term shop owner described the prospects as phenomenal! Downsizing to striper scale but no less fun, estuaries from the Eel River to the Essex River are probably your best bet for bass.

South Shore/South Coast Massachusetts Fishing Report

Some of the most consistent striper fishing is taking place in the Westport River/Harbor area right now. With regularity, Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters is finding the dark bite with eels impressive for fish up to 25 pounds. At dawn the skipper has been getting the same class of fish with bunker-colored RM Smith Jackhammers. I missed a fish with Captain Colby early in the week that tail-slapped the 9-inch plug completely out of the water. The false albacore bite in Buzzards Bay is incredible and there may be no better time to run-and-gun after these speedsters than right now.

Dave from The Fisherman’s Outfitter in Plymouth said that beach fishing is beginning to pick up. Shore guys are catching on chunks between the turnaround and the outside edge of Long Beach, although I would not discount the inside/Eel River side with a nice noisy popper right around dusk or dawn. Next time you’re working a popper throw some long pauses into the retrieve, especially at low light and see if that plug doesn’t get blasted out of the water. Boat guys trolling swimmers and the tube-and-worm are catching just off the beach as well. Macks are spotty outside of the #1 Can southeast of The Gurnet with one angler claiming he hit the mackerel mother lode and another jigging in what seemed like empty water. There are some big reasons to focus on mackerel, or more appropriately “giant” reasons, since the tuna bite from many sources is peaking right now with live bait being the key to a big bluefin between the SW Corner of Stellwagen and Peaked Hill Bar.

Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate said that while the striper scuttlebutt is quiet, he is selling an awful lot of eels, which speaks volumes. Boaters would do well dropping eels into the 45-foot hole at the elbow of the South River on a flowing tide; it’s easy to imagine stripers waiting in ambush at the edge of that drop-off when there’s current. Bridges throughout the South and North Rivers at night at the turn of the tide should hold good stripers. Work the edge of that shadow line with eels or drag a bucktail jig at an angle to the shadow line. You’ll often see fish you can target if you stand on the bridge before you cast; even on the blackest of nights the back of a striper appears blacker still. Peanut bunker are swarming The Glades making it prime time to get out the soft shad baits, spoons and jigs. At any given time bass and blues could blow up on this prime bait.

According to a patron of Green Harbor, a “blow-up,” quite possibly due to peanuts, has already happened! Just this Thursday morning Rexhame Beach was a fish-a-cast fest with low 30-inch stripers smacking pencil poppers! Bob Pronk saw a similar blitz earlier about 150 yards off Brant Rock and the surface explosions were huge! He might have faked a sick call but he’s the boss! For about three days now, anglers have been reporting consistent bluefish while trolling just outside of inshore ledges such as Howland, Offer and Brewers. Bob knows of 10 recent hook-ups of giants between Stellwagen Bank and the backside of The Cape, but few of these monsters were ever landed. Above all it is live bait, whether it be mackerel, whiting or bluefish, which is getting bit.

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report

Finding pogies in the harbor is not that hard… hooking stripers with them, however, remains a challenge. A combination of smaller fish and neutral larger fish are resulting in more drops than hook-sets. Some such as Rick Paone Sr. and Jr. are chunking and landing more fish than those sticking to live bait. Recent pogy encounters have occurred by Thompson Island, Spectacle Island and Deer Island. Early risers have the best chance of seeing tell-tale flips, but of course the fish don’t bury into the mud once boat traffic increases they just hunker down deeper. This is when the eyes of your electronics are more important than your own as pogies can still be snagged, you just have to resist the urge to jig until you bump up against a pogy school.

While the “outside” has more than its share off finicky fish, the night shift cruises into rivers/estuaries for the sole purpose of feeding in preparation for the fall run and it is there where the most reliable striper fishing is at the moment. Poke around most any river/marsh at night and look for inner sloughs or bays even those which have only a few feet of water at higher tides. The ideal time is as the tide is ebbing and the sanctuary for forage such as eel grass and inlets start drying up. Bass will prowl along those edges picking off the prey as it becomes exposed. In spite of the skinny water we are finding loud poppers very effective for mid-30 inch fish. And topwater action in a few feet of water is a thrill which never grows old!

According to Lisa from Fore River B&T in Quincy, Wollaston Beach has been the scene of some impressive bluefish catches as the toothies tee off on the hapless pogies. On a recent day, two tube-and-worm anglers tallied 8 blues with 2 stripers. Drag the tube around by Wessagusset Beach and Seal Rock. There’s solid striper reports from World’s End, the Weymouth Back River, Avalon Beach and the Town River. Some of the steadiest surface action is taking place from Hull Gut in through Bumpkin Island with the fish averaging 25” with quantity and action making up for size. Lisa and friend Marie recently trolled up stripers at the Town River with Queen Cocahoes and Cape Cod Spinners.

North Shore Massachusetts Fishing Report

Pete from Fin and Feather in Essex echoed our results when he suggested that the best bass fishing is happening at marshes at night with the sweet spot 2 hours either side of high tide. Patrons of the shop are catching on Jumpin’ Minnows and the Ocean Lures Swimming Baitfish. The later you get into the night the more you should slow down the presentation: even throwing in exaggerated pauses now and then. Other spots worth a go are the Annisquam/Little River watershed as well as Plum Island Sound. The “rocks” on the North Shore are relatively quiet but that will all change once the migratory waves of stripers pass by.

Martha from Surfland B&T said that last week an eddy of cooler water spun into Plum Island Sound and brought in with it impressive fishing for stripers up to the low 40 inches. Topwater plugs and eels ruled and incoming to high tide fished best. As water temperatures cool down in the not-too-distant future, look for those marshy areas to heat up again. Eels at night remain one of your best bets for a bass whether you’re a boater or a booter and you’re fishing the Parker River, Merrimack River, beachfront or Parker River Wildlife Reservation. Typically it’s a schoolie-fest during the day with a lot of larger fish giving the offering looks but not taking the bait. Come dark the bass are generally more aggressive. Many are having a great time driving on the sand of the reservation (permit required), spiking a rod in the sand and content to enjoy the view, breathe the salty air and slide schoolies onto the beach!

Fishing Forecast

If you have the gear and the guts to go for it, check out the giant tuna bite from Stellwagen out through Peaked Hill Bar. It is world class fishing right now for brutish bluefin, and live mackerel, whiting or bluefish are the best baits. Surfcasters should cast chunks or poppers off Long Beach or Rexhame Beach for bass. Hull should continue to be hot for surface action for schoolies while bigger bass will be prowling near pogy schools off Wollaston Beach, Thompson Island and Spectacle Island. On the North Shore the estuaries such as the Essex River and Plum Island Sound should continue to be consistent during higher tides from dusk to dawn.