Massachusetts Fishing Report - October 20, 2016

The shrinking volume of striper-obsessed anglers who are still at it are looking to the east and in some cases to the north for hope. That pivotal transitional period between false dawn and dawn is when persistent pogy schools pop up, making that silver sliver of light creeping up over the horizon something to anticipate. You may also find the news up north interesting as Maine anglers are still making journeys to Bay State bait shops for eels.

Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

Each year striper mania in May sweeps most other angling interests aside, most notably freshwater. Eddie of B&A in West Boylston reminded me about the flaw in that thinking the other day. Recent catches are enough to make even the staunchest saltwater stalwart salivate. Beginning with the new state record white perch, which was weighed in on Sunday. The mighty whitey weighed 3 1/2 pounds and taped out at 18″ long and 13 1/2″ in girth! The fish fell for a blown-up crawler fished by Val Peruoco. A friend of Eddie’s, Mark Mahoney, also landed a pig perch of 2 1/2 pounds on a worm from the causeway. It’s almost as if white perch are born big here: in 25 years of fishing that place, I’ve never landed or saw a white perch under a pound! Nearly as impressive as that perch is the 9-3 brown trout taken by Ryan Foden on a Mepps spinner just downstream of the Oakdale Pumphouse on the Quinapoxet River. And there have been others! A trained eye preening runs, holes, and other likely lairs will spot impressive brown trout and rainbow trout throughout the river. There also has been some awesome landlocked salmon caught here including a 6-13 on an artificial. I’m not sure of the origin of the Wachusett name, but if it was from indigenous people, its meaning could be “trophy town”!

Massachusetts South Coast Fishing Report

From a stellar start, the blackfish bite on the Westport side of Buzzards Bay is getting better and will continue to improve as water temperatures dip into the 50s. On a recent trip with Captain Jason Colby, he yelled for me to scoot over to his slip in the predawn darkness. Picking up the pace was worth it as we ogled dozens of stripers, including a few 25 pounders, forging the tide and looking for victims. And this was at the dock!

Anyone who has paid attention to our take on tog fishing knows that we are total Tidal Tails Jig’z converts. You may also recall I’m a big fan of a spritz or two of BioEdge Crab Potion. We can know count on Captain Colby as part of that camp. If he wasn’t there to witness this, few would believe it. In the midst of a red-hot tog bite on a wreck just outside of Westport River, I decided to experiment. After being stripped clean of my crab, I squeezed a few drops of the crab potion on the now naked jig and dropped it down just for the heck of it and – wham, I was hooked up to a tog! I kid you not and now Jason has a donated bottle of BioEdge on board the Little Sister!

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Scotty from Green Harbor Bait and Tackle said that mackerel have returned to Cape Cod Bay in force! Most who are catching them are turning around and live-lining them for mixed sizes of tuna by the “Golf Ball” off Truro, Peaked Hill Bar, and the SW Corner of Stellwagen Bank. However, if you still have bass on the brain you may want to consider slowly trolling them around the “Three Bays” or from Manomet Point to Flag Rock off Priscilla Beach. There have been sustained blitzes off the jetties of Green Harbor with anglers reporting stripers anywhere from 13″ to 36″.
Pete from Belsan’s Bait in Scituate told me that blitzes of bass and occasionally blues are the reality for the few who are still on the chase. The beaches of the South Shore such as Humarock and Mann Hill Beach are worth an exploratory cast or two. And then there’s the eels-at-night guys who are still slinging, catching and saying nary a word. The rivers are among your most reliable resource in late October and to pan in even closer, try the shadow line of bridges. If you’ve never stood on a bridge at night and watched in awe as striper after striper (including big ones) leapfrogged the others for a swipe at baitfish, than you have no idea what you’re missing.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

There have been recent blow-ups of bass and blues on pogies throughout Boston Harbor with few anglers taking part. In late October, it’s best to expect a skunking, yet revel when you actually catch. Regardless that puts you miles ahead of the others who are done until next year! Recent feeds have taken place off Black Rock Beach, Point Allerton, Wollaston Beach,Thompson Island, Malibu Beach, the mouth of the Mystic River and Revere Beach. Amazingly there are still plenty of pogies around and even bluefish! False dawn searches are often the most successful for finding the bait, bass and blues.

I recently saw a lot of individuals sifting the eel grass for grass shrimp by the Neponset River, which is a certain indicator that they are catching smelt. Maria was tending the shop at Fore River when we spoke. Lisa on the other hand was trudging through mud in pursuit of grass shrimp for smelt fans. In October smelt gather in bays and harbors but as the fall transitions into winter you can expect them to migrate farther upstream as they stage to spawn. One such example of this is Winthrop Harbor. Now they will be at the marinas, come late December you can usually count on them in the Belle Isle Marsh and Chelsea Creek. When other favorites such as Hull and Hingham and the Reserve Channel grow cold, search around for tributaries where you can capitalize later.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Another week, another tuna for Captain Tom Ciulla and the T Sea crew, with one glaring exception – they’re getting bigger! This past weekend the guys tugged in 89″ of Charlie which fell for a live mackerel at slack tide on Stellwagen. The tuna took the bait at full stride to which the skipper described the ensuing violence as “ridiculous”! If you had to pick one month, October would be it and the pelagics are popping up randomly from Ipswich Bay to the bank.

Tomo from Tomos Tackle in Salem said that Beverly Cove just went off for bass from schoolie size to 40″ fish. Curtis Point to Hospital Point is where the surface feeds have been most prevalent. Eel casters pounding the mouth of the Forest River at night as well as the Danvers River and Saugus River are finding aggressive stripers of mixed sizes. And Fisherman’s Beach is still a flounder fisherman’s best fall friend.

Skip from Three Lantern Marine told me that the Little River and Annisquam River are best bets this time of the year, especially at nighttime with eels or jerk baits/jig heads. Pollock are easy pickings off most Cape Ann crags and odds are good that a live one will not be passed up by a cow cruising for dinner off Manchester-by-the-Sea, the Gloucester Backshore, Andrews Point, Folly Cove or Halibut Point. Mike from Surfland said that with the kicked-up recent surf loud topwaters such as poppers have been the key to keeper bass plus. On the other hand, bait soakers have had to settle for schoolies. Salisbury Beach has been solid for those working Super Strike Poppers. “Across the river”, the quieter current stemmed by the charter boat dock in the Merrimack has been productive as anglers and stripers sought relief from the raging full moon currents.

If there were a Surfland “line” for your best odds, Mike suggests Parking Lot 3 in the reservation on the incoming tide and nighttime tides at Parking Lot 6/7. He also gave a nod to the the effluence of the Essex and Crane’s Beach. Just in case you’re worried that its over, those “Maniacs” from north of the border are still buying up eels and catching striped bass!

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

If fall to you means blitzes than keep your eyes out for South Shore surface feeds from Scituate through Shifting Lots Preserve. For some, October is all about smelt and you can hunt them out off Hull, Hingham, the Reserve Channel and Winthrop. While not as plentiful as a month ago, there are still plenty of pogies along with prowling bass and blues. Recent reports place them between the Tobin Bridge and the Amelia Earhart Dam, Dorchester Bay, Thompson Bay and off Wollaston Beach. There’s been bedlam in Beverly as busting bass and blues make short work of baitfish by Curtis Point and Hospital Point. If you enjoy working a popper (and who doesn’t it?) spend some time on the North Shore between the parking lots of the Parker River Wildlife Reserve and Salisbury Beach.