Pictured above: Makos are on the prowl such as this 80″ taken aboard the Elizabeth Marie.
The catch phrase that describes the Greater Boston striped bass fishing could be, “We’ve waited all year for this!” The catching is that good! If you can distance yourself from the harbor “stripernado,” there’s a ferocious shark bite east of Stellwagen and the limits of black sea bass in Westport are no problem.
Southeast Massachusetts And South Shore Fishing Report
Scotty from Green Harbor Bait and Tackle told me that the first wave of sub-legal tuna have invaded the southern end of Stellwagen as well as Peaked Hill through the “Golf Ball” (off Truro). These “manageable” tuna are custom made for sturdy spinning gear and the fish are falling for all manner of soft-plastic jerkbaits, Butterfly-style jigs, and topwater stuff. Of course the tried-and-true trolling of rigged ballyhoo with Joe Shutes skirts and Carlson bars are accounting for their share as well.
Bass fishing has been great with tube-and-workers leading the charge for mid-30-inch and up stripers at High Pine Ledge, Farnham Rock and Bluefish Cove. Fluctuating water temperatures combined with the occasional bluefish onslaughts are making mackerel locating unpredictable, but just when anglers are ready to write them off, schools appear as close as Farnham Bell.
In a year when he’s bested halibut, porbeagles, and now a mako, I was beginning to wonder if there were any beasts left out there that Captain Rob Green of Elizabeth Marie Charters hasn’t caught! Just this week, the skipper put into the boat 80 inches of mako that gulped down a haddock east of Stellwagen. He’s also landed four porbeagles and counting. If you’re looking to test your mettle against something that’s far stronger than you, Captain Green can make that quest come true!
Pete from Belsan Bait in Scituate said that harbor pollock have returned to rocky bottom off Egypt Beach as well as sporadically Minot’s Ledge, the Cliffs and even as close as The Glades. Those using them for bait are bagging bass in the 20-pound bracket. While not as numerous as Boston, there are pogies around, with bass usually in tow. Inshore cod are as close as Sunken Ledge and these are market sized 6/7 pounders!
Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters is finding an interesting mixture in the Westport side of Buzzards Bay. Close to port, limits of black sea bass, including some 4- to 5-pound hump-heads, are usually no problem. Jigging with Shimano Lucanus Jigs or Spro Jigs with a forerunning dropper loop of “meat” or Gulp will catch. The offshore runs to Rhode Island Sound between Browns Ledge and Cox Ledge are resulting in the enviable combination of cod and mahi. If ever there were an odd couple in a cooler, they would be it! Regardless, a meal of both is as scrumptious as it gets.
Greater Boston Fishing Report
Boston has historically been lauded as the “Hub” for a myriad of reasons, but right now the harbor really is the hub of all things striper north of the Cape. In fact, I’m having a hard time getting my friends who have shops in the South and North Shores to talk about anything but Boston! It begins and ends with the swarms of pogies, which in spite of being incessantly pursued by purse seiners, seem to be an inexhaustible resource. And, considering the calendar, odds are that the good times will last well into October! The only caveat is that water temperatures have risen over the last few days making bays, estuaries, and other shallow areas possibly less productive. For example, Dorchester Bay had been hot, but the latest anecdotes have the deeper water of Castle Island hotter! Spinnaker Island had been sizzling for bait and the bass, but now I’m hearing of a better bite in the cooler water off Hull. Keep one eye on the pogies and another on water temperatures. Water temperatures recently surged a full 6 degrees in one of the shallow areas, effectively throwing the off switch to spectacular fishing. If nothing is doing inside, check out Toddy Rocks, Point Allerton, the Brewsters, the Calfs, the North Channel and Bob’s Bass Triangle.
An alternative to the almighty pogy is the tube-and-worm according to Laurel from Hull B&T. Troll the shop’s specialty tube – blood red with a glow orange tail – by Boston Light and as close in as Spectacle and Thompson Islands. I’ve seen the photos, there are a lot of nice bass and big grins!
Russ Eastman of Monahan Marine in Weymouth told me a tale of his “apprentice” CJ who lost a sandwich yet caught a bass. He was holed up by Hangman Island the other day when nothing was doing so, in spite of fish which didn’t appear to be hungry, he was. No sooner did he chomp into his sandwich when stripers began rushing a nearby pogy school. CJs priority justly shifted to fishing mode and three 36-inch fish later, the sandwich was a loss.
Lisa from Fore River has plenty of happy patrons chasing the pogies, which are in turn being chased by bass. Recent reports had bouts of luck from Peddock Island, Pemberton Pier and the mouth of the Neponset River. All those pogies have attracted toothy specimens such as blues up to 15 pounds and even an approximated 6-foot sandbar shark observed sniffing around the mouth of the Back River.
The timing of better fishing coincides with what looks to be one of the better Greater Boston bass/blue tournaments scheduled for the weekend of September 17/18. The #Field4Hull tournament looks to be a winner on a number of fronts in addition to dovetailing nicely with the best fishing of the season. All the proceeds are slated for the future Hull Athletic Turf Field and the prizes run the gamut from trophies to a cool $1500 cash. Check out this worthy cause at fish4field4hull@gmail.com!
Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
The linesider living has been good in the Lynn Area. From Lynn Harbor out past the point of Nahant and toward Swampscott, it’s the pogies that have been drawing the fire. Twenty-five-pounders have been no problem, although there are far bigger lurking around. My buddy Dave Flaherty peered down from a promontory recently in Nahant and watched what he emphasized to be a low to mid 50-inch beast follow his Hogy double wide into shore! He may have fared better had he a fresh pogy chunk on the line.
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that the reappearance of mackerel in spite of sizzling water temperatures have made things interesting. Some reports have come in of mackerel by the 2 Can off Nahant and others outside of Baker and Misery islands. Bass are often with the pogies, but the bluefish presence necessitates the packing of steel leaders. Tomo’s tip is try tube-and-worm trolling. The tube has been the trick in Nahant Bay, Swampscott as well as Marblehead Harbor and Neck. A few fluke are being taken in Lynn Harbor as well as black sea bass. The Red Rock sea worm soakers are catching schoolies as well as the occasional keeper. Mackerel can be found in Gloucester Harbor. Come nightfall, anglers are lobbing whole mackerel off docks and piers in the harbor and catching quality stripers. Loblolly Cove and Brace Cove have been good, especially for those chunking fresh pogy, which are in residence. The beaches such as Niles, Good Harbor, Long and Pebble have plenty of stripers with bigger bass feeding mostly after dark. Andrews Point and Halibut Point have been made productive for blues for those trolling deep-diving plugs.
According to Martha from Surfland the biggest news there is the opening of the Parker River Wildlife Reservation to the beach buggy brigade. Parking Lots 3, 6 and 7 have seen a slug of 40-inch fish, most of which has been taken on bait. Pogies have been present at the ocean front with surf guys able to even snag and drop them! Kayak anglers are trolling the tube-and-worm by Pavillion Beach and catching good bass. The usual nighttime boating bunch are doing quite well on eels at Emerson RocksHull, Moonhead Island, and Castle Island have been some of the better bass spots lately. as well as Sandy Point. There’s good news also coming from the mouth of the Ipswich River.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
World class shark fishing for porbeagles and makos is taking place right now east of Stellwagen Bank. A live (legal) groundfish or bluefish and chum is the key to catching these apex predators. While the harbor is undoubtedly hot, looking for cooler temperatures may be the ticket for you to cull out cows from all those pogies. Troll a tube and worm through Lynn Harbor, Nahant Bay and out through Marblehead if you’d rather stick with artificials. Mackerel caught by day and fished for bass come night has been the winning formula in Gloucester!
I wish people would practice catch and release with these big stripers following the pogies. These big stripers are undoubtedly females and should be released after quick photo.
steve, talked about this in last weeks, or the previous weeks post…its a shame…
That’s right. Take a photo and revive them – FAST. Don’t torture your catch – the fish gods will frown upon your boat.
Steve, you are correct. When the fish are gone, the fish are gone… I can’t count how many people in Massachusetts have told me the difference in fishing 20 years ago to now, surf, or off shore you can no longer just go out and catch a fish for dinner. Not to mention all of the pogies being sucked up to be sold for bait.
Are there any kids on the water in Boston Harbor or South Shore selling live pogies? Are they monitoring a channel?
Youz guys are right, let’s ban fishing with hooks and we can watch fish chase lure to boat/shore. Fishing will be known as “watching”, as in “Went down the harbor, it was great! Watched 3 in a row!!!
I think we should change from trying to catch stripers to catching seals. An 800 lb seal would have a lot of meat on it and they probably taste just like striped bass since they eat so many of them.
Want to know who kills the most striped bass on Cape Cod? here’s your answer:”It is widely known that seals eat between 6%-8% of their body weight in fish per day. Which doesn’t seem like all that much. Now let’s scale it a bit. How much fish will 10,000 seals eat in a day? Well, if those 10,000 seals weigh 500 pounds each, they would consume 350,000 lbs. of fish per day or 2.45 million pounds of fish per week”. I just talked to a national Seashore volunteer on Head of the Meadow beach where there were 500 grey seals hauled out. He said there were 30,000 seals on the Cape now. That calculates to 1,920,000 lbs of fish per day to feed the seals. Don’t tell me crap that it matters whether a person keeps one fish or not. That is not the problem.
I doubt the seals are eating many 40″ plus bass like steve and charlie were talking about. Legsl size shld b 28 ” to 36″
You are wrong. Very wrong
Well said Fred. You are exactly right. The seals are a gigantic problem to the stripers. And what about the great whites. Only a matter of time before a person is attacked by a great white. I fish off the cape. Thousands of seals. They are multiplying like rabbits
And. An 800 lb seal? Where are those? Not here
Seals are not eating 40 inch stripers, I can guarantee that. My comment was for the Boston harbor area, where seals are not an issue. I’m not against taking a striper home for the table, but how about keeping a smaller one (ie 28-34″). It is a scientific fact the larger stripers are females. There are those that feel the need to keep every legal fish they catch, and that is their right. I just wish people would take it upon themselves and do their part in preserving the fishery. I take more pleasure in releasing a healthy 40 inch striper than biting into one fresh off the grill. If the majority of people choose to harvest every large striper they catch, I suggest taking up golf because soon the fishery will be depleted.
Catch & Release is the only future for striped bass in the Northeast. A complete change in mindset is required to save a once more endangered fishery. I suggest we not only release all fish but stop being obsessed with size and weight. Lets not even measure fish any more. There will be only two kinds of bass, schoolies and quality fish. Who cares how big it was. Value your catch by the quality of the experience and by what you have learned.
Peer pressure is a very powerful tool. Lets use it.
I agree with Fred and think Steve you are incorrect when you say seals are not eating 40 inch stripers. I do release most of my fish and may keep one or two per year. First, if you are fishing the lower cape from the beach- you are lucky if you catch a 40 inch striper as they aren’t going to come into feed when there are herds of 400-700 pound gray seals patrolling the beach. Second, when schools of big blues chase bait into the surf and you hook one – you have about a 50/50 chance of landing it. I have lost 30 -36 inch big blues numerous times over the last 5 years due to the gray seals taking it and then running out all your line if you do not cut it . Why wouldn’t they grab a striper a few inches longer? These are not harbor seals. This is not natural to have this many seals. The seals were protected by man’s law (Mammal protection Act) and their predator (Great White Shark) was not protected to 29 years later. So in effect- laws gave the seals a 29 year head start and now nature is out of balance. They need to be culled down through limited hunts an/or sterilization as the eco-system is now out of balance. Maybe then the sharks will control their population given an even playing field.
Is the squid season over yet?
Can someone explain to me why my polite post commenting on Fred and Steve’s conversation was not posted??? I am a long time subscriber and I was giving a historical view of the outer Cape and seal problem.
Fred makes a good point. Maybe we should stop targeting sharks so they eat more seals. That big mako should never have been brought to the boat. Check out this video if you have any doubts that makos are a stiper fisherman’s best friend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jdqITF5hBo
theres a whole other problem…unless you have a peg leg, and you’re going after the shark that too that leg to mount and get revenge…why are people taking sharks? Yes, some taste good…keep knocking off the apex predators and were f**ked, people and the ocean alike.
bring back the $ per head for seals they had back in the day…
The big poggie’s that brought in the 30 pounders have left the three bays, but what a great two weeks of fishing they brought! Especially on LT, and the fly! Tight lines.
First off, to be clear, I love fishing and I am not a marine biologist, so I’m like just about everyone here.
I am astonished to see so many posts on this good website about getting rid of seals so we can have more stripers to catch. Are these serious comments or just people grumbling? I hope it’s just grumbling, but if so maybe throw in an extra comment that, yeah, we’re better off with seals around than without. The natural world, and all the non-anglers who don’t care about our hobby, does not and should not revolve around striper fishing. Some people–even some fisherman–might actually enjoy seeing seals around. They might even think it’s cool that more seals means more white sharks (another cool thing) and a return to the healthy ecosystems of the old days.
We all seem to agree that every species and ecosystem should be monitored and managed to some extent, and that can include limited culls of overpopulated species for the benefit of those species, ecosystems, and even hunters/anglers. I wouldn’t put seal culls off the table if marine biologists thought it was a good idea, as unpopular as that sounds to the rest of society. I just don’t have the knowledge, but I’m sure we’ll all hear about it if the real experts tell us it’s time to kill seals again.
In the meantime, it seems folks here are forgetting how greedy and short-sighted humans were for centuries, and still can be. For fun, food, and money, or out of fear, ignorance, and boredom, we used to kill seals, whales, wolves, eagles, cougars, buffalo, and countless other species without hesitation, and we wiped out plenty of them. It’s still happening. Those were different times, of course, but we did learn from them.
Seals and sharks returning to abundance is a good thing, even if, in fact, it turns out we have a few less cow stripers to harvest. It means we stopped short of exterminating those animals and still have the chance to enjoy fishing, hunting, working, playing, and just living with them in our backyards. Don’t we want our kids to have the chance to see all those great animals just as we have, and don’t we know better than to put selfish motives above the bigger picture? I hope so.
We humans are finally getting good at responsibly consuming and coexisting with our non-human neighbors, and with humans who value the environment for reasons not related to angling. Let’s not be the ones who make the same old foolish, selfish, wasteful mistakes of the past. In fact, so we can keep our sport alive and acceptable to others, let’s not be the ones who shame angling by coming off as trigger happy exploiters.
If you enjoy striper fishing but can’t appreciate the beauty and importance of everything and everyone else around you, well, that’s a shame for the rest of us but also for you. I suggest going to the water or into the woods without a rod, gun, or camera, and have a go at enjoying the sights sounds and smells around you just as they are. Get that feeling in your system and you might not be so cranky about the fish you didn’t catch.
Treehugger, nothing good is going to come from having an over abundance of seals and white sharks. Only a matter of time before someone who actually spends time “in” the ocean is hurt or killed. Cool to see is not a good enough rationalization for that inevitable day. If cool to see is what your after, discovery channel is your place. To live and interact with the marine environment of New England is an amazing thing, great fishing, great sights and great times as it is. No need to turn it into Capetown, or seal island.
James, fair enough and you’re right, I definitely should have been clearer about shark attacks. They’re horrible and I wouldn’t wish them on anyone, especially average folks who don’t think about this stuff when they head to the beach for a long weekend. It’s always terrible to hear about those attacks, and there’s no question sharks bite people sometimes because they think/hope it’s a seal. And it does seem that as the seals have come back so has emerged the real threat of being eaten by a big shark off an otherwise safe beach. It’s definitely scary, and I don’t think our parents much perceived or carried that risk in New England decades ago.
But attacks are pretty rare here and everywhere else for the average person, even compared to many other unlikely tragedies, and even as more people populate coastal areas and enter the water than they did fifty years ago when sharks and shark prey were less protected. The big white sharks that are increasingly around Cape Cod do get a lot of press and attention from lifeguards, beach towns, etc., so hopefully nobody is getting wet without knowing the risks. My impression is that people are informed enough and the risk is low enough for the moment, but we should definitely keep tracking these huge sharks and informing the public.
I have to disagree with the notion that the Discovery Channel is the only place to appreciate the really wild stuff. Fishing itself is a pretty wild activity, and you can’t fully appreciate that on the couch. I think that if we’re lucky, we can have wilderness experiences in person wherever the natural world allows it, even and especially close to home–so long as the risk justifies what we gain.
South Africans with their sharks might think we’re insane for tolerating the serious risks of driving on I-93. Wild animal attacks aside, we risk death anytime we set sail, hike a mountain, or go scuba diving. At some point I think it becomes a choice about what we prefer: natural wonders with all their risks, or the mythical “safe wilderness.” Maybe a compromise on the horizon is shark nets and seal deterrents at some New England beaches and zero human access at others so animals can have their place and people can too. I guess I’d prefer that over culling if striper angling and total human safety is at stake, but overall I do think much more is at stake.
Treehugger is right, you take a risk every time you go out in your boat. There is probably a greater risk of getting caught in a thunderstorm and being struck by lightning out there than being attacked by a shark.
There is a wilderness right outside the harbor and we are pretty lucky to be able to get out in it. Instead of being afraid of a coast like the Cape of Good Hope, we should be hoping that our coast can return to a cleaner wilder ocean.
Horse head blues in the three bays! Wire up! 15 pounders! Tight lines.