Massachusetts Fishing Report – June 18, 2015

If cookie-cutter schoolie stripers have been giving you the blues, there is big news – as in 40-pounder big! The “cow pasture” over the last few days has been slightly offshore, but just maybe those fish will come calling closer just in time for Dad’s big day. Of course, for many, Father’s Day is all about family and to that end the unofficial family-friendly-fish in these parts – winter flounder – is biting as well as they have all season.

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Not surprisingly, it’s all about the mackerel on the South Shore according to Scotty Sinclair of Green Harbor Bait and Tackle. Naturally, those mackerel are the means for everything from bass to bluefin. Start looking for mackerel as soon as you clear the Green Harbor bell with the most consistent jigging closer to Stellwagen. You can expect your Sabiki rig to be greeted by other interested parties such as harbor pollock and sea herring, but of course there is no substitute for the real thing. Live macks are making a killing in the North and South River, as well as for those who are working close to Burke’s Beach and Rexhame Beach. Race Point continues to be prolific as schools of impressive stripers seem reluctant to leave that buffet of bait. Live bait will work as will vertical jigging and snapping jigs on wire. Expect a few bluefish to be slicing and dicing your offering.

For many, the shop is considered tuna central, and it has been a beehive of activity in preparation for this weekend’s Tuna Fest put on by Captain Damon Saco. Tuna love ballyhoo and mackerel, and you’ll find no shortage of either at the shop. Scotty suggests as a starting point for those in search of tuna to check out the swath east of Chatham between the old BC Buoy and the Regal Sword. With improvements on gear, the current craze in the tuna game is to catch giants on spinning gear, and one of the top-rod tuna guys in the area has already boated two while popping/jigging. A slug of school-sized bluefin has been belting squid bars just south of Martha’s Vineyard, and they just might come closer.

Pete from Belsan’s said that some shore sharpies are jigging up the ubiquitous pollock off The Glades and live-lining them to linesiders. One of those cheapo half-dollar-sized Styrofoam floats makes for a perfect way to present pollock. It prevents them from burying in bubbleweed and makes for a great strike indicator. The key is to have two different rods, one for jigging and a heavier one for baiting. Pollock are delicate, so the transfer should be quick and seamless to keep the prey peppy. I prefer the pollock fresh enough so that it is able to sink the float just a tad. Count to three upon getting a strike and then ram the hook home with all you have – it’s fun stuff, and you’ll know quickly if there are better bass around because they can’t pass up an injured pollock. The eel crowd continues to catch teen-sized bass at night while wading among the marshy stuff of the North River. Three more “white chin” tautog were taken in the Cedar Point area!

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report

If you’re beginning to wonder if Boston Harbor is ever going to be anything but a parade of schoolies this season, the three 40-pound stripers caught locally may provide the answer. Other than their size, the other common denominators were that they were all caught on mackerel and under the mackerel school! Lisa from Fore River weighed in a 40 on Saturday that fell for mackerel near Boston Light. The shop’s two tube-and-worm aficionados, Donny and Bobby, have been carving up Quincy Bay and catching stripers up to 29 pounds by Veezie Rocks, Hangman Island and Sunken Ledge. Shore fishermen are catching best throughout the Weymouth Back River as fall-back bluebacks are getting pounded by a striped welcoming committee. The catching has been good in the Town River as well with chunk mackerel and clams working. Outgoing tide at Black Creek has had action. As for Nut Island squid, the proof is in the demand for squid jigs, and they are selling like hot cakes.

It’s not often drama comes into play when the discussion is about flounder. But that is exactly what occurred for a brief five minute stretch this past Tuesday aboard the Little Sister in Quincy Bay. Captain Colby put crew members, Alan, Chris, Bill, Paul and yours truly into a drift which has been giving up huge flounder. Seconds into it and in rapid succession a number of blackbacks, blown-up like balloons, between 18” and 20” were flopping on the deck. On the light rods that we are using, these fish are nothing if not fun! It is now less about “limiting” out and more about catching a possible 4- or even 5-pound flounder and contending for the state-run Saltwater Fishing Derby, the catching is that good! Flounder are popping up in more than just the usual spots such as Hospital Shoals, Rainsford Island, Sculpin Ledge and Deer Island Flats. Try poking around by some of the inner islands—I bet there are untapped schools of fish there. A moving tide matters, as opposed to slack tide, and try drifting until you find the flounder and then chum them up!

Paul from Bob’s Bait Shack weighed in two 40-pound-plus stripers in the last few days! While taciturn about just where they were caught, the anglers both said that the fish were found with the mackerel! Mackerel continue to be caught randomly between the outer harbor islands and the end of state waters. Should you find macks, make sure you drop one down to see just who is home! A customer who frequents the Boston Shipyard Marina in East Boston has been hauling in some impressive tautog. This is nothing new. The extensive inner harbor wharves teem with barnacle-laden pilings and plenty of crabs making these prime habitat for tautog. You can catch tautog most anywhere you can find access here but a boat shore helps. Seaworms are adequate but crabs are far better; a crab pot with a fish rack will not lie on the bottom of Boston Harbor long before getting noticed by green crabs.

This Saturday marks the 17th year for Boston’s longest-running one-day striped bass tournament, the Boston Harbor Striper Shootout! The BHSS is the brainchild of Peter Santini of Fishing FINatics and the priority has always been to celebrate the greater Harbor, this awesome sport fish and every bit as importantly donate proceeds to the Soldiers Home in Chelsea. Pete really knows how to pick the week since historically the fishing has been hottest right around the time of this tournament and with all the mackerel out there it could be any body’s game. You still have time to participate but don’t delay!

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Noel form Bridge Street Sports said that after a lackluster start, the fishing for flounder and keeper stripers is firing on all cylinders. They’re catching both off of the Beverly Pier and Salem Willows Pier. A few squid are being taken at both spots at dark. For a crack at a keeper, Noel suggests live macks or a tube-and-worm off Winter Island.

Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle told me blitzing throughout Salem and Beverly Harbor’s is becoming the norm. And there are bigger fish now than just schoolies! For a chance at a cow, Tomo is telling anglers to jig up mackerel which can be found randomly from Broad Sound through Gloucester and live-line or troll them through the channel which splits Misery and Bakers Islands. The lock for the top rod category this week has to go to 8 year old Ben O’Connor who tugged in a 6-5 tautog as well as a 3-7 flounder on the same day in Beverly! Both species can be found sporadically from the mouth of the Danvers River out through the Beverly Pier and to Mackerel Cove. Flounder fishing is good off Collins Cove and Peaches Point off Marblehead. Marblehead Harbor has been giving up some squid but hardly a lot, with a good outing consisting of about 12 cephalopods.

Liz from Surfland said that the mouth of the Merrimack River has gone off during the ebbing tide during recent mornings. Unlike a month ago, an occasional teen or 20 pound striper has been caught among the schoolies. Sand eel imitators such as Slug-Gos, Bill Hurley’s, and RonZs are all catching. Don’t discount the shops favorite needlefish – the NTA Custom – when the bass are keying in on such slim-profiled forage. This is a heavy needle which works great in a powerful current, especially at night. Joppa has been jammed with bass and the kayaks have taken notice. While most troll tubes or cast eels, Liz suggests you vertically jig depth/channel edges for better bass. The ocean front features occasional blitzes with the SP Minnow the reigning king for those doing the catching. Parking Lot 1 as well as Sandy Point have been reliable for keeper bass for bait casters. Some dispute which is better, sea worms or clams. I can tell you that when we flounder fish we often bait with both on the same rig and overwhelmingly bycatch bass are caught on the clam! You can find mackerel at the Speckled Apron as well as Hampton Shoals. If you can’t find bass on site, drift through the mouth of the Merrimack with them or try live-lining by Sandy Point.

Fishing Forecast

Historically, right now is one of the best times of the season when it comes to catching a really big striped bass! And the most surefire method is to sink a live mackerel into the lair where the big girls swim such as the ledges off Hull as well as beyond the outer Boston Harbor Islands. Some on the South Shore are betting that the cows come closer soon; to that you may want to troll macks near High Pine Ledge, Stellwagen Ledges and by the Willies and Grampuses, the latter two of which are just outside of Cohasset. Big bass off Saturday Night Ledge and Three-and-One-Half-Fathom on mackerel have been a given, but maybe Brewster Spit or Point Allerton will be productive should the fish come closer to shore as they usually do about now. Flounder fishing in Quincy Bay, Hull and Boston Harbor remains a best bet with the possibility of finding your own pocket of fish a real possibility. Squid are starting to increase in numbers in Marblehead but you’ll fare better if you focus on flounder by Collins and Kettle Coves. Joppa Flats are jumping with stripers with the mouth of the Merrimack a good choice for a cow while drifting live mackerel.