Massachusetts Fishing Report – June 23, 2016

Pictured: Matt Kanelos took this 45-pounder off Race Point.

Quite possibly the biggest bass portion of the season is at our doorstep. Not one, but two 50-pound striped bass were taken over the weekend and if that doesn’t heighten your interest to get out there than maybe you’ll find incentive knowing that the guy responsible for both is convinced there’s even bigger still out there!

Congratulations to all who participated in Boston’s penultimate big bass derby – the 18th Boston Harbor Striper Shootout! First up, you have to give it up for James Steinwachs who cranked in a cow of 50.5”, 51 pounds aboard Captain Russ Burgess’ boat! The big bass hit a Big Water Lures troller out by Devils Back in the dark of night! Special mention has to go to Nick Fondulis for limping in a smidge too late aboard his Ouzo past the 5:00 cutoff. His crew had a nice cow that would have been a real contender for the top spots. To his credit he took the news well, was a real sport and stuck around for the festivities. In addition to the fun, camaraderie and philanthropy (donation to the Soldiers Home) there was a lot to learn. Overwhelmingly the placing fish were caught on live mackerel in deep water from Graves Light to the B Buoy. Bucking that trend of course was James and Russ, who trolled that monstrous 10-inch plug around in the dead of the night and obviously did pretty well also!

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Man it was good to hear from my friend Bob Pronk at Green Harbor Bait & Tackle! Bob used to own the shop and remains a wealth of knowledge and good will. He told me that kids are killing the bass off the dyke of Green Harbor on soft plastics. Mackerel have moved back in big time and as proof he sees 6 to 10 boats every morning jigging them up by Farnham Bell. Most are taking the macks to Race Point where the fishing has been fast and furious. Closer to home, trolling macks has been good by Bluefish Cove, Blackman’s Point and High Pine Ledge. Saquish Rip has ranged from hot to spotty. For more of a striper slam, dunking at the offshore ledges, just inside of federal waters, remain a best bet. Pogies are no problem by Powder Point Bridge and through Duxbury Bay; should you not catch there, try off The Gurnet and Duxbury Beach. Two 90-inch-plus tuna have been taken on live mackerel from the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen. Speaking of Stellwagen, you can take it to the bank that you’ll find haddock just east of it and plenty of catch-and-release cod.

Pete from Belsan Bait in Scituate trumpeted the return of mackerel when we spoke. Start your search as soon as you clear port as some are being caught in 30’ of water. If bass are not near, then try near Third and Fourth Cliffs as well as High Pine Ledge. A few black sea bass are being jigged up there as well and while the talk is of “black fish” there was a 9-pound tautog caught and released off Cedar Point. Pollock are swarming nearly everywhere inshore making for great fun if you’re cruising with the kiddies. The other family-friendly fish, of course, is flounder, and the fishing for old flattie is fantastic! Inside of and just outside of Scituate and Cohasset harbors has been hot, and there have been fish off Humarock Beach. With estuarial water temperatures cresting 60 degrees, stripers search out eel lairs throughout the South and North rivers as well as tributaries. Bridges can be among the best bets to fish off of and in addition to serpents, the trusty bucktail jig or jig/Gulp Jerk Shad can be every bit as deadly.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

If you’re thinking that Jamie’s 51-pounder that won the derby was a fluke, you’d be wrong. As if to add an exclamation point to that catch, Russ Burgess headed back out two nights later and with the same plug took a 53.5-pounder! There’s big bass out there folks!

Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett has been making the steam out to the B Buoy for bigger mackerel than the inshore variety in the hopes that he would find bigger bass and recent proof came in the picture he sent me of a 32-pounder. Pete trolls the macks over humps from Nahant through Broad Sound and into Kelly’s Rocks, and he’s been finding good fish. There have also been pogies by Point of Pines and even into the Chelsea Creek. Urban anglers have even been into keeper black sea bass and cod in the Chelsea Creek. That one time dirty water body has certainly gotten healthy.

Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters has been finding flounder out in deeper water. It may be time to start searching by Green Island, the “Calfs” and Brewsters as well as Point Allerton. On a recent trip with him I caught a nice cod, which promptly went back where it came from. “For Hire” boats cannot keep cod in state waters, but on a private boat anglers can keep the one 19-inch fish.

Lisa from Fore River said that mackerel can be found in good numbers by Martins Ledge again. Of course the Hull Ledges contingent is always going to catch at this time of the year but there’s action inside by Hull Gut, Webb Park, and Hangman Island. Pogies are popping up off Wollaston, occasionally off Marina Bay, and also inside of Winthrop by the Pleasant Park Yacht Club and Atlantis Marina. Solidly in the unusual catch category is the 16-inch scup that they’re catching from boats while focusing on flounder. Scup spots in the past have been Hospital Shoals, Peddock Island and Hull Gut.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem told me that the MVP of striper prey – pogies! – can be found off Nahant, Marblehead and in Salem Harbor. There are few higher percentage methods for a big bass than snagging a pogy and then letting it swim near the school. The operative phrase is “near the school;” unless there’s a lot of fish around stripers will be shadowing the pogies. Shore-casters lobbing seaworms into the horizon off the Nahant causeway have been catching up to 30 pounds. Mackerel can be found sporadically off Salem Willows. Squid are most numerous even during the day in Gloucester Harbor, while the piers off Marblehead, Beverly and Salem are primarily a nighttime affair. Flounder are still around but with striper fever taking hold less interest is there.

Skip from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester described the flounder fishing in Gloucester Harbor as phenomenal with most limiting out in one hour! Squid fishing is lights out and not just once the sunlight goes out either. Mackerel seem to move in and out randomly. Anglers were not finding much but on Thursday Skip had a patron put a major hurt on them right in the harbor. Pollock are plentiful and a great substitute as my friend Tom Ciulla has been finding out. Try trolling pollock or mackerel off the backshore, Good Harbor Beach as well as Cape Hedge and Pebble Beach. He’s also found willing haddock and plentiful cod among the hills of Southern Jeffrey’s Ledge. The shame comes in the volume of 30” cod, which must be released!

Newburyport is mackerel city according to Martha from Surfland. Guys from boats and even guys with boots are catching them! Thirty-pound stripers have been taken on those macks from the mouth of the Merrimack River and they’ve been effective at Joppa Flats as well. Eels have been hot off the Ocean Front, Plum Island Sound, the Parker River and Joppa. It looks as though, however, that there is a “sinister” presence around Plum Island for all those who fish eels – bluefish! An 8-pounder was just caught from Joppa Flats. Shad can actually be picked off near the mouth of the Merrimack as they cruise on out.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

The mackerel catching is easy on the South Shore, but for your best bet for a bass, head on out to Flatt Ledge, Davis Ledge, Minot Ledge, or Race Point. If you want bigger, bluefin are beginning to bust bait on the bank by the Southwest Corner. The biggest Boston bass have been out beyond Graves Light, but with the appearance of pogies, they just might come cruising closer toward Broad Sound, Winthrop and Nahant. For inshore groundfishing, flounder in Gloucester Harbor can’t be beat.