Massachusetts Fishing Report – July 14, 2016

For most, the previous two weeks have fluctuated on the striper front somewhere between slow and slower. However, if proof is in the pictures, then I’ve been seeing the catching take a turn in the right direction, especially on the North Shore. Additionally, a new dimension has been added to the fantastic flounder fishing, as the blackback has been joined by fluke in increasing numbers.

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Could your linesider luck be linked to “Larry” the lobster? Pete of Belsans Bait and Tackle in Scituate swears that when the lobsters shed their shells, striped bass heed the scent and begin poking around inshore structure for a lobster dinner. No sooner did he pass along to me the observation that lobstermen are finding soft-shelled crustaceans in their traps then I got a text from a friend who had just harvested a 30-pounder with 4 lobsters in its belly! Better bass on the trail of inshore lobsters may explain why a 30-pound striper was beached at Peggotty recently. Another reason may be that bigger numbers of just-offshore blues are pushing mackerel closer to shore. Start your bait search as soon as you clear the SA Buoy.

Crunchy inshore structure that may be holding good stripers now are the Cliffs – from First through Fourth – and the Glades. Minot Light continues to be one of the more consistent cow producers. Plus, the flounder fishing seems to be only getting better! Belsan’s weighed in a slob 20 ½-inch 4-pound, 13-ounce blackback that is all but a lock for the state Saltwater Fishing Derby. Surprisingly the big flounder was hauled in but 100 yards from the Scituate Harbor Boat Ramp! In addition to winters, this year is looking like a winner for fluke! Anglers fishing for bass are increasingly catching keeper fluke throughout the North River watershed, such as at Damon’s Point and the Herring River. Greater Boston is seeing quite a few fluke as well, so this may be a good year.

Scotty from Green Harbor Bait and Tackle in Marshfield said that those “living on the edge” are reveling in awesome, world-class pelagic fishing. Veatch and Hydrogapher canyons have been terrific; Damon Sacco’s Castafari has been into almost ridiculous fishing for wahoo, yellowfin, blue marlin and yellowfin, bluefin and bigeye tuna. Spreads that are working best are those with a Carlson Bird in the middle and surrounded by ballyhoo with Joe Chute heads.

Last weekend’s Northeasterly blow doused the hot fishing at Race Point with cool water. The current heat wave we are in the midst of should wake that back up again. Schoolie stripers and flounder have been no problem from the dyke of Green Harbor out past the jetties. Blues can be found by the Pilgrim Power as well as periodically just outside of The Gurnet and in deeper water all the way out through Hull.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Monday night there was a big blitz just before dark by Deer Island Light which attracted a fleet of about 15 boats. An eye-witness account was that the catching was good and the bass big. Pogies have been roaming from the Shraffts Complex, at the mouth of the Mystic River, to the Amelia Earhart Dam. The schools have been most prevalent in the evening and good-sized bass seem to be on the bait when it is east of the Alford Street Bridge. Just this Wednesday, there was a huge school of pogies in the Deer Island area. I also have news of bite-sized pogies off Revere Beach that resulted in a big blitz of respectable bass. If pogy numbers continue to swell, Greater Boston could be setting up for an interesting late summer/fall run. Keeper black sea bass are hitting squid and clams close to the wharves of Boston’s inner harbor.

Laurel of Hull Bait said that anglers soaking squid near James Ave have been getting bass up to 30 pounds. The rivers remain best bets for faster action with the Weir especially getting the nod. Kayaks dragging a tube-and-worm by Sandy Point have been catching stripers up to 37”. A few pogies can be found off Wollaston and persistent live-liners are catching stripers shadowing the school. The flounder fishing remains great; Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters has been finding them in skinny water in Quincy Bay, mid-depths in Hull Harbor and all the way out to ledges off Hull. The fish are as healthy as they’ve been all season long and it looks as if the year still has legs.

If you’re looking for those mackerel, recent attempts at the BG Buoy have been successful. The sizes have been mixed and if you have a choice, top off the livewell with big baits, the adage, “big bait, big fish” definitely holds true. The exception to this is if you are targeting fluke, when tinkers or even spikes are ideal size.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Carl Vining of Somerville practically choked on his Kelly’s Roast Beef when he saw the boat show collecting off Nahant Wednesday morning. My friends Joe and Mark Holey were more than just angst-filled observers as they duked it out with blues and bass up to 30 pounds. The bigger of the bass was found to have a belly full of lobsters! Mackerel remain the modus operandi but can be tough to find in close. Pollock make a superb substitute and are usually plentiful by Saunders Ledge. I wasn’t all that surprised to hear of the blitzes because my buddy Dave Flaherty during the blow had been into 20-pounders right from shore in the teeth of the suds and rollers. Usually when seas settle, those fish pull out a bit.

It’s going to be a good year for fluke, folks. Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters has been catching an errant fluke or two while fishing for flounder. A charter on board the other day told of a 22” toothy he picked up by Hangman Island. A few nice fluke have also been taken by Point of Pines. No doubt they are also off Revere Beach, Lynn Harbor and the Lynn Marsh.

The strange tale of the week winner has to go to Noel from Bridge Street Sports in Salem. It seems that a “fish” prowling around Salem Willows has been turning the tables on birds. A “big” shark was observed by several bystanders cruising on the surface, dorsal fin up, and was observed picking off birds on the surface of the water. In fact several witnesses were overheard trying to warn the birds with chants of, “look out bird!” It beats me what kind of a beast that may have been. Noel has been picking off stripers in the North River right by the shop! Noel has heard of a few fluke being taken in Marblehead. While he didn’t know for sure, he suspects it was Devereux Beach. With cooler temperatures behind us, look for squid activity to increase among the piers of Swampscott, Marblehead, Beverly and Salem.

Tomo of Tomos Tackle in Salem said that striper fishing has definitely improved. The bite is best just south of the shop with the epicenter Lynn Harbor, King’s Beach and Nahant Harbor. Blues and several fish up to 40 pounds have been caught on mackerel and 247 Lures Mully’s in tequila sunrise. He’s also hearing of fluke being found throughout the Lynn area. By most accounts the fine flounder fishing shows no signs of slowing down from Lynn Harbor through Swampscott and all the way into Cape Ann.

Several fly-fishermen were into big blues Wednesday morning off Egg Rock. Skip from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester told me that blues have pushed mackerel in and with them better striped bass. In addition to the plentiful pollock in the harbor, mackerel have reappeared and game fish are right with them. Captain Tom Ciulla and friends have been pounding 25 pounders with pollock. Southern Ipswich Bay had been good and there were even a few pogies around but the best bet at the moment seems to be Halibut Point where solid schools of pogies have attracted bass and blues. The conundrum is in somehow slipping a pogy past the choppers to the stripers below. Considering that stripers up to 40 pounds have been taken recently the effort is well worth it. In only 100’ of water a scant 2 miles out, guys have been getting into cod and even haddock.

Martha’s Surfland report echoed the feeling of the rest of the North Shore shops – it’s great up there! The biggest news may be the mid-30-inch blues anglers are catching right from the jetty of the Merrimack. Eels at night from the Ocean Front have been responsible for some impressive bass. Tinkers were pushed into the Merrimack by blues and anglers were catching them right by the Captains Fishing Charters dock. Close to shore ledges hold big mackerel. Joppa Flats and the Parker River have a lot of fish which have tended to be spooky.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

More than just the heat is up, so is our striper fortunes. Preferably with live bait, poke around South Shore structure such as The Cliffs or The Glades for bass sniffing around for lobsters. Flounder fishing in Scituate is superb, but to mix it up drift a bucktail jig/squid strip through the North River for a fluke. Find the pogies in Boston Harbor and stick with them, and maybe you’ll be in a blitz such as the recent one on Revere Beach. When it comes to cows, the North Shore right now is the cream of the crop in Gloucester Harbor and off Halibut Point. Pogies are tonic for toothies here too, so you had better pack steel leaders.