Bluefish can be a polarizing predator in these parts. Who does not appreciate the head-shaking fury of a double-digit gator as it clears the surface, determined to rid you of your popper and your nerve? But they do massacre mackerel and other baitfish, which leaves many who while missing the fight, enjoy even more having all that bass and tuna bait still available.
Sea Turtle Alert!
Your attention on the water and your concern can help save these threatened and endangered species.
With at least five loggerhead and 2 leatherback sea turtles killed by boat strikes In Nantucket Sound and Cape Cod Bay in the past two weeks, fishermen are being urged to please keep a close eye out for sea turtles, as four species are here, feeding in our waters. You’re most likely to see leatherbacks and loggerheads. Leatherbacks are huge, 4’ or more in length, dark, with fore-and-aft ridges on their upper shell. Loggerheads in our waters are usually 2 – 3’ long, tan/brown with yellow/orange around their heads and flippers. Loggerheads often have barnacles and algae on their upper shell. Both species sometimes bask at the surface, and swim at or just under the surface. Your small power boat could easily kill a loggerhead or a huge leatherback, and we’ve had numerous boat strike fatalities lately. Please watch the water in front of your boat, and remember that auto-pilots do not see sea turtles.
If you see a free-swimming sea turtle please report it to the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay hotline at fseaturtlesightings.org or 1-888-SEA-TURT. And if you see an entangled sea turtle, please call the Center for Coastal Studies’ hotline at 1-888-SEA-TURT (1-888-732-8878) and stand by in your boat, if possible. Please note: Date, Location (be as specific as possible), Time of Day, Approximate size and Any other details observed.
Massachusetts South Coast Fishing Report
Tautog are more than crab breakers, occasionally they are heart breakers. There are beastly blackfish settling in throughout the Westport side of Buzzards Bay. I had the good fortune to fish the other day for tog aboard my friend Captain Jason Colby’s Little Sister but I had the misfortune of breaking off the biggest tog I ever hooked on his boat. The skipper was out-fishing me and his brother Hunter by a wide margin until I finally woke up and embellished my Tidaltails Jig like he was. Ordinarily for small to medium green crabs, we snap off the two claws, run the hook through one opening and out the other, and then crack the shell with a sinker. (Do not under any circumstances crack the shell against the boat! Effective anglers are stealthy anglers and the raucous created by any thumping of the hull will spook the tog big time.) Instead palm the crab in your hands before you make contact with the sinker. Sometimes, however, the tog want a “shelled” crab. Jason was peeling the carapace off the crab, exposing the entrails, and catching quite nicely. Hunter and I gave Oscar-worthy performances as we feigned delight in his success as we continued to whiff on our chances. It was not until I junked the shell that I started catching. And then “she” hit. I go heavy for tog with a Shimano Stella loaded with 50-pound Power Pro and a 7’ GLoomis Pro Blue that could tame a school tuna. But there was no stopping this insane tog as it pulled a very tight drag and scrubbed me of on a wreck below. As you’d expect, I did not initially take the loss well and it’s a good thing there wasn’t mixed company onboard! But when reflecting, I’m awed that I was even able to hook/experience such a beast – next time! As water temperatures drop, tog will be more aggressive and it won’t matter as much how you present that crab, but if you’re finding them fussy now, consider taking a little off the top.
Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report
There are a lot of tuna tearing up mackerel schools on Stellwagen Bank according to Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters. When asked where, he replied, “From North to South on the bank, they are everywhere!”. The later it gets in the season the more cracks you get at Charlie, weather permitting of course. Mackerel are still the best bait and there is no shortage of them from Scituate Harbor out to Stellwagen. The captain recommends you stick with slack tide and place your bait at the edges of drop offs. A mixed bag of groundfish have moved onto the western edge of the bank in 220 feet of water.
Pete from Belsan’s Bait and Tackle said that thanks to peanut bunker there are significant surface feeds in Scituate Harbor as well as the bays and beaches from Plymouth through Hull! As if on cue, our conversation was briefly interrupted as Pete glanced at a text and said, “Look at that, Peggotty is going off right now!” You got to love September! Most of the fish you’ll find on the South Shore are 22-28” stripers, but the eel crew creeping around the South River and North River at night are catching up to 30 pounds. Mackerel are still magical during the day and some hefty stripers have fallen as a result off the Glades, Egypt Beach and Minot! For blues, stick around the power plant in Plymouth.
Massachusetts Greater Boston Fishing Report
While there have been pogies around this year, it is not 2016 redux. There just isn’t the volume of bass on the bait as there was last season. If you have even a glancing awareness of striped bass fishing in New England, you know that the Cape Cod Canal has been borderline insane regarding both the catching and the army of anglers fishing it. Perhaps the season-long supply of mackerel and comfortable water temperatures kept “our” fish there! The buzz in Boston lately has been all about the Reserve Channel in South Boston, where I know of fish taken up to 37 pounds. The key is to toss a pogy tight to the wharf pilings and should a big bass hit, hope that it doesn’t head into the barnacle-laden jungle. Other best bets have been mackerel or pogies between Moonhead Island through the Long Island Bridge abutments and out towards the Wollaston Beach side of Long Island. Lisa from Fore River said that to satisfy live grass shrimp cravings, the ladies of the shop are now traipsing through backwater sloughs looking to net the smelt candy. And it is worth it, since patrons are catching smelt with the shrimp! Look for the silver streakers at Captain’s Cove Marina, the piers off Hull and off Hingham. Soon they should be found off the Summer Street Bridge in South Boston again.
Captain Paul Diggins of Reel Pursuit Charters is passing on the latest, must-fish spot in the harbor and sticking with live mackerel off Egg Rock and he is still catching! While bluefish are a blast to catch, the benefit to a year without, such as this year has been by and large, is that mackerel have remained in residence and can still be found off Graves, Flipp Rock and off Nahant. Darlene of Bob’s Bait Shack in Winthrop said that fresh bait off the beaches is resulting in some of the bigger bass being caught. Thanks to the shop’s efforts to keep fresh mackerel and pogies in stock, you won’t have to stray far for bait. Because of peanut bunker, there is no shortage of surface activity in the Winthrop area. Just Thursday morning, Darlene found herself a bit distracted during her short commute as she could see scattered blitzing from the Public Landing through Cottage Park Yacht Club!
Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
It’s beginning to look a lot like – the fall run, according to Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem! Peanut bunker appear to be the ignitor as blitzes are erupting in Beverly Harbor, Magnolia Harbor and Gloucester Harbor. The area that borders Endicott College deserves special attention as a slug of 34” fish pushed peanuts and silversides up against structure. Surf fishermen walking and casting shad baits are catching off Devereux Beach in Marblehead. Some are live-lining mackerel from Salem Willows and caching keeper bass. Peanut bunker and the resultant blitzes have also been observed in Lynn Harbor. For a chance at something larger throw a large noisy popper such as the Shimano Orca Popper or Tsunami Talking Popper in the mix. Now that the fish are aggressive, poppers can be especially deadly at calling in the cows from afar.
Liz from Surfland said that the Plum Island area is awash with bait! Pogies in both adult as well as peanut version are present as are mackerel and sand eels. Yet it is the eel slingers who eschew the matching-the-hatch ethos that are catching the cows come dusk. Brandon, who works in the shop, and a few buddies are running and gunning the refuge from Camp New Haven out to Emerson Rocks and doing well with eels. Peanut bunker in Plum Island Sound have been the accelerating to sizzling surface action while larger linesiders are falling for adult bunker on the Salisbury side of the Merrimack River out to Salisbury Beach.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
While the calendar may differ, for the fisherman it’s the fall. One longing look at many of the bays and harbors says it all – the season of the blitz is upon us. Peanut bunker from Plymouth through Hull are drawing a crowd of bass, birds, and bedlam. On the South Coast, if you drop a crab onto a rockpile or wreck, have a firm grip on that rod, some of the tog there are beasts! Not every school of pogies in Boston Harbor has striped bass nearby, but it would behoove you to keep searching for one that does. If you fish Plum Island by day you’ll see no shortage of bait, however the ones catching the biggest bass are not very likely seeing much of anything as they are sticking with eels and the night shift.
Are there any squid around? Specifically, Nahant harbor? Tight lines, John B, F/V Zoe.
I don,t have a boat anymore so I cant get out there.
“not a fish story”
Tuesday night jigging for macks by the Graves, a 10 foot shark breaches and then jumps out of the water. pretty sure it was a Thresher Shark. Probably the reason we didn’t catch a Striper!!!
More likely a white not a thresher
Was live lining a mack by the power plant when a 12 foot boil arose in the water and a huge flash of white then 200 yards of braid dumped of the reel in 5 seconds and boom gone. Don’t know what it was and probably never will.
Could have been charlie. He’s been spotted in that area a few times this year
Definitely Charlie!! He’s been snacking on fish over there all year long!
@Chuck, probably a large seal they are sneaky out there, especially if you have a fish on! I have even seen them sit under boats waiting for you to bring in a bluefish, then they snatch it! Tight lines.
Peanut bunker everywhere in the three bays, plant is void of blues, schoolie beat down towards Deluxbury, and on White’s bank. Bird pile “run and gun” season for the light tackle, fly enthusiast! Tight lines.
A lot of seals around, outer Boston harbor,, and they r sneaky
if was a shark u would have been cutoff right away if it was a seal it would have surfaced after 200 yards and would have been cut off
Not everyone have a boat to go out to catch these fish need to have some kind of report for a fisherman on the bank fishing under the piers under the bridge to let them know what’s biting what they’re eating we all need that kind of report to
There’s just to much bait on the water. I have caught macks by the bucket every time out. Mostly tinkers with a few 1 pounders. Last week on the flattery water I’ve seen all I hit outside of flat ledge because I was told there were lots of good bass but also some football’s. All I found that day was acres of 6 inch macks. What fish could resist? All of them that day. I ran back inside because I’ve been working really hard to come up with a tog or two but struck out AGAIN. What my green crabs did catch was two mackerel. Macks hanging out at the rocks a casting distance from shore. Can’t catch blue fish to save my life this year. I’m assuming the daily catch limit on those guys us still 10. Far to many for a fish that deserves more respect. Are we seeing a depletion of blue fish stocks?
last time out too many bait fish .. lot of big boys but I used all types of bait and did not get anything.. the fish are not hungry… also no blues around up in the NH/ma coast area.
“Bluefish were plentiful off southern New England and also about Nantucket in colonial times, but they seem to have disappeared thence about 1764, not to reappear there until about 1810” (gma.org/fogm/Pomatomus_saltatrix.htm) The disappearance of bluefish has occurred repeatedly in New England waters even in colonial times, long before anyone owned fish finders or got reports from On The Water. I hope we have not entered into one of these cycles.