Massachusetts Fishing Report - May 11, 2017

Pictured above: Quabbin salmon are getting fat on smelt!

Over the last few weeks, lawn signs have been popping up like dandelions congratulating “the class of 2017.” However, something can be said for the “class of 2011”! That young-of-the-year class of striped bass was spawned in the Chesapeake Bay in 2011, which was the fourth highest in the 58 years of record keeping. They have returned to the Bay State with a vengeance and they are averaging 28 inches!

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

The “micros” of last week have been joined by keeper-sized striped bass throughout the South Shore. Your quickest route to that first “fun” bass of the year is to target herring runs; after all that’s where the bait is! Pete from Belsan’s Bait in Scituate has been hearing of better bass chasing herring in the North River, South River, and Herring River. Look for larger linesiders to also be looking for herring in Plymouth’s Eel River and Town River. Beaches are beginning to light up with mixed sizes of stripers from tiny to 30 inches. Belsan expects the prey paradigm to shift as offshore mackerel come calling closer to shore, which often coincides with the appearance of bigger bass. Right now, the biggest schools of mackerel are on Stellwagen Bank, but the rule of thumb for inshore mackerel has always been that they arrive just in time for Mother’s Day…and we all know what Sunday is! Flounder remain as fickle as the weather. When the sun is shining, anglers are smiling, but when the sky is grey, their frowns mirror the dour conditions. Regardless, the best blackback bite has been in Green Harbor and Cohasett Harbor. There has also been a few fish taken off Gunrock Beach.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Last week’s first fresh striper euphoria has been supplanted by the excitement of 26- to 29-inch fish! Lisa from Fore River in Quincy has been hearing of good things from the Weir River/World’s End area. Elsewhere, better bass are now sniffing around herring schools in the Weymouth Back River, by the Charles River locks, and at the mouth of the Mystic River from the Shraffts Center to the Amelia Earhart Dam. The shop is carrying eels, and if you think that’s a bit premature, you’d be wrong! Regardless of the season, if you can put an eel out there, you’re going to catch the biggest bass that swims there.

Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters is convinced that this is going to be a better year for ol’ blackback than in quite a while. Despite still unseasonably chilly water temperatures (one section of the harbor the other day read a dismal 44 degrees), when that sun peaks out the action is hot! If next week’s weather forecast is accurate and the month begins to act like May, then expect limits to be the norm. As proof of flounder numbers, the skipper has been finding flounder in more than the usual Peddock, Rainsford, Deer Island trifecta. Recently while aboard the Little Sister, we fished a section off Hull I never fished before and there were flounder there as well!

Mike from Bob’s Bait Shack in Winthrop said that patrons have been catching flounder from Deer Island Flats as well as the Pines River. From another source, I heard of flounder also being targeted around Snake Island. This just could be a year where those flounder are popping up nearly everywhere! Customers of the shop are talking of stripers between Lynn Harbor and Lynn Beach.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

On Tuesday, Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem touted the fact that keeper stripers have invaded the North Shore. Twenty-eight-inch stripers have been smacking small pencil poppers and swim shads from the Charles River through the Saugus River and out to the Kernwood Bridge on the Danvers River. Mixed sizes of stripers have also been found in Marblehead Harbor and Salem Harbor. Patrons who put in serious hours on the Merrimack River are reporting nice stripers as far upstream as the Lawrence Dam. The only squid “encounter” he has heard of is of a hapless one being plucked from the surface of Marblehead Harbor by a gull. Most of Tomo’s flounder fans are targeting them from the Beverly Pier, Salem Willows, the Fisherman’s Beach and Lynn Harbor.

Noel from Bridge Street in Salem said that while customers are catching a few mackerel off Salem Willows, the most common quarry is sea herring. Don’t fuss about not catching the intended species, fresh or live “greenbacks” make for fantastic bait. Anglers are finding a few flounder in Salem and Beverly harbors. The area by the Jubilee Yacht Club is perennially good!

Skip from Three Lantern Marine told me that the cool, rainy conditions have most wishing rather than fishing. He expects next week to have plenty of reports of more fresh fish in the Annisquam and Little rivers. When weather permits, those with adequate beam are making the trip to Jeffreys Ledge and Stellwagen Bank with the former getting the nod for bigger haddock but both offshore ledges rewarding with limits.

Martha from Surfland in Newburyport said that while keeper stripers have arrived, it’s almost impossible to gauge where they will be caught next. Ordinarily, the mouth of the Merrimack on an outgoing tide is the where it’s at this time of the year, but that’s not always the case. On Wednesday, the mob at the mouth caught only a few smalls, while their counterparts fishing on the oceanfront crushed them. With fast moving schools of migratory fish cruising up our coast, it pays to keep on the move. Sandy Point has given up stripers recently, as has Plum Island Sound. Go-to lures this season are the Search Bait 360 by Storm as well as Bill Hurley Paddletails. So far there are no inshore mackerel reports, but there are plenty of sea herring for those looking for fresh or live bait!

Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

Eddie of B&A in West Boylston said that Wachusett water levels have dropped to where traipsing the shoreline in most areas is now possible. That’s a good thing because the laker bite by Gates 19 and 22 has been solid. Kastmasters have been king, making the recent delivery of every conceivable size and color of Kastmaster perfect timing for the shop. Speaking of timing, if you’re considering giving the tributaries a try, then you’re fortunate since the Stillwater just received a batch of 16” to 18” rainbows.

The Gate 8 side of Quabbin continues to be productive with the landlockeds looking extremely healthy. Shiners, spoons and streamers continue to catch within 20 feet of the surface. Anglers dropping down their wares or drifting closer to the shoreline, especially by Gates 31 or 43 are increasingly coming tight to big smallmouth bass.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

For a shot at a South Shore keeper, target the herring runs in the Eel River, Town River, South River and North River. Flounder fortunes especially can be tied to the vagaries of the weather; once this washout weekend is in the rear-view mirror, target sun-swept shorelines of Peddock Island and Deer Island Flats for best success. Keeper stripers have invaded Lynn Harbor, the Danvers River and the Ocean Front of Plum Island. If you’d like to get the jump on the rest, consider Joppa Flats. That shallow water favorite should kick into gear any day.