Massachusetts Fishing Report – August 4, 2016

Surging water temperatures and the random appearance of bluefish have spelled bye-bye for most mackerel, but not all, and this bait is still money. That aside, your best chance at catching a special striped bass appears to be with a fresh pogy chunk fished tight to a pogy school. The other effective method is trolling the venerable tube and worm.

South Coast/South Shore Fishing Report

With the relocating of my friend Captain Jason Colby’s Little Sister to Westport, I’m going to have an up close and personal account of the menagerie of fishing opportunities down there until the waning days of November! Westport River is swarming with fluke, the problem is finding a few big enough to put in the cooler. Regardless, most of us fish because we love to catch and watching a school of these aggressive toothy flounder as they compete for a chub is just plain fun! Killifish, mummichogs, or in “Boston-speak” chubs, are a killer bait for fluke. While certainly fluke will engulf Gulp mullets, the gin-clear water gave us a window into their preference and it became evident that they wanted the real thing by a large margin. A jig/chub or jig/Gulp will work but what might be a better combination is an egg sinker ahead of a 2’ leader with a 2/0 Mustad Ultra Point Wide Gap. The slip sinker design allows you to give a second of slack after the hit and improves the hookup rate tremendously. In Buzzards Bay you’ll find no shortage of black sea bass or 3- to 5-pound bluefish which make for fast-paced action. Fewer fluke swim in deeper water but the ratio of keeper to short is much more favorable. Be prepared to poke around in water as deep as 70’ for the bigger fluke. For this type of fishing you’ll need a “three-way rig” with a three or four foot lead on top and a 3- to 5-ounce jig on the bottom. Spro Bucktails or my personal favorite Shimano’s Lucanus make great bottom bouncers.

The glaring exception to the lack of big mackerel in Mass Bay is what randomly happens in Cape Cod Bay. Tuna as well as bluefish push mackerel schools from deep water in toward the shoreline sporadically. There’s no way to gauge this, but if you’re out when it happens, you’ll stand a good chance of catching a cow. This is exactly what happened in the Canal this week. Regulars were praying for mackerel and they got them as well as drag-pulling striped bass thanks in part to a bluefin bite on the SE section of Stellwagen which scattered mackerel in toward shore. Bob Pronk from Green Harbor heard of some nice striper hauls from High Pine Ledge out to The Gurnet, again with a push of mackerel being the trigger. The tube and worm has been best by Beetle Rock and Farnham Rock. Inside Duxbury Bay keeper fluke are cooperating.

Connor from Belsan Bait in Scituate said that there has been solid inshore cod action in 80-100 feet of water. There’s also more reports of halibut, this time Captain Rob Green hauled in a 43 incher on a jig while aboard the Elizabeth Marie. During the fifteen years I’ve been writing this column, I have never heard so much hubbub on halibut and the fish are all 40-pound flatties that makes you curious if some kind of wonderful thing is going on here! Other than trolling mackerel among ledges such as Minot’s, Davis’, Flatt’s and Scarlett’s, Conner suggests that anglers target the North and South Rivers with mackerel or eels; there’s been rumblings of 20 pound fish taken this way.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Laurel from Hull Bait & Tackle for years has been touting Teddy Abbadessa as one of Boston’s best bass fisherman. He confirmed that recently with a 50.25-pound beauty! There are no shortage of pogies in Boston Harbor and those big bass will be prowling close to those schools. Most will live-line snagged pogies but a better idea might be to chunk them, especially the head section. Pogies are evasive quarry and not easy prey for a striper to catch. The same cannot be said for bluefish which have no problem making mince-meat out of all the pogies they want. Stripers instinctively shadow the pogy/bluefish schools looking for a chunk lunch thanks to the blues. It’s a pain but you’ll fare better if you keep that chunk pretty close to the pogy schools even if it calls for continually relocating. Lisa from Fore River suggested that if you troll a tube and worm near the pogy schools you’ll often pick off a few fish looking to prey on those pogies. Proper etiquette matters, don’t plow into a school in the middle of anglers trying to snag up, but rather work the perimeter or try and find a separate school of pogies – there are more than one school of pogies! For the inside scoop on all things tied to the tube, especially the harbor-favorite Santini tube, I elicited input from my friend Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics. Weigh down that tube with either lead core line or a trolling sinker to where It’s slithering no more than a few feet above the bottom. Also employ a long leader, Pete opts for 10 feet of 50-pound Jinkai or other quality leader material. Long Island has been a tube-and-worm winner. Wollaston Beach has been a winner also for surf fisherman for bass and blues. Black sea bass are a targetable quarry this year and Lisa from Fore River has been steering patrons to Quincy Bay’s Pig Rock as well as non-descript rockpiles throughout Hull and Hingham. Don’t discount a Hull Gut drift for black sea bass!

Russ Eastman of Monahan Marine told me that there’s a red hot school tuna bite on the NW corner of the Dump – just south of the Vineyard. The fish have been averaging 44” to 55” and are slamming pink Carlson Canyon bird bars. These are just the ticket for sportier gear.

North Shore Fishing Report

Noel from Bridge Street Sports said that his brother was having a good old time slamming schoolie stripers on mackerel at Newcomb Ledge when the bass bash was interrupted by 20-pound cod. The cod were found at the edge of soft/hard bottom. It might be worth your while sniffing around for similar circumstances farther inshore such as at Nahant. Of course the stock isn’t what it once was, but I know of an angler who beginning in August not long ago used to do quite well on remarkably big cod by dropping green crabs between ledge and soft bottom between the East Point and Saunders Ledge. With increasing reports of inshore cod this spot may be worth visiting. Nahant has also been one of the more consistent locations for the tube and worm in 30’ plus of water throughout the Bass Rock and Bailey’s Hill area. Mackerel and squid can still be caught from Salem Willows Pier.

Skip from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester said that there was a recent invasion of double-digit blues off Wingaersheek Beach. Bass have been under the bluefish schools with the challenge getting a baitfish below the choppers. Should you be fortunate enough to find some pogies, weigh down a head chunk and hope for the best. Mackerel can best be described as spotty with the bluefish presence. There have been few found in Gloucester Harbor with the better bet searching in the deeper water of Ipswich Bay. The few who are focusing on flounder are still finding them throughout Gloucester Harbor especially by the Dogbar Jetty. Kay from Surfland couldn’t offer up any specific spots on flounder but she did say that the same old salts keep buying up flats of seaworms. When asked about where they are fishing, they’ll generally smirk and flash a look of subtle indignation. The nighttime eel casters were put off by the “Fire in the Water” but some still caught at the mouth of the Merrimack River, the Parker River, Plum Island Sound and Sandy Point. It’s August and if you’re not fishing after dark you’re handicapping yourself. The exception is the occasional front beach “blow-up” of schoolies on sand eels. For blues, Kay has been hearing of good luck off Crane’s Beach.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Hopefully those mackerel which were pushed by pelagics into Cape Cod Bay stick around for a while because the bigger bass will not be far. If you can’t find macks, consider eels throughout the North and South Rivers. Fluke fishing is in fine form throughout Westport and Duxbury Bay with a chub on the hook a best bet. You’re shortcut to a striper in Boston Harbor is courtesy of a chunk of pogy or trolling a tube and worm off Long Island. The tube is also the ticket throughout Nahant but it might not be a bad option checking out the bottom for cod, they’ve been catching them off Newcomb Ledge. Blues have been busting bait from Wingaersheek Beach through Crane’s Beach and they are double-digit toothies. For something you’d most likely would want to take a bite out of, flounder are being found off Plum Island and if you’re lucky you’ll get one of the salts at Surfland in a talking mood!