Massachusetts Fishing Report - April 26, 2018

With spring having finally sprung look for opportunities to accelerate from idol to redline in short order. Already haddock have been joined by flounder giving anglers an inshore as well as an offshore groundfish option. Of course, the big question is when will “they” arrive? If this year mimics last year, the answer is – schoolies may arrive by this weekend!

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

The way Captain Rich Antonio of Black Rose Charters described Stellwagen Bank recently, it almost sounded as if the haddock haul was incidental to the overall experience. The whale shows have been spectacular, the cod catch-and-release bycatch has been eye-opening, and the acres of extra-large sand eels bode well for the future. The deadliest depth for the haddock has been about 120 feet just off the edge of Stellwagen Bank and jigs/teaser rigs have been most effective. The cod caveat is that if you’re catching them, then try shallower for the haddock. The bumper crop of sand eels bodes well for tuna when they come to town.

Captain Mark Petit of Fire Escape Charters in Plymouth will have a fishing report next week as he’ll be joining the haddock-fishing fleet out on Stellwagen tomorrow, now that his boat is in the water and the weather is looking good. He’ll be doing his part for science and conservation by working with the Massachusetts DMF to report catches and releases via iPad.

Pete from Belsan’s Bait in Scituate said that he hasn’t heard any confirmed catches of flounder yet, but a Greater Boston shop has a patron who has been pulling them up from the Powder Point Bridge in Duxbury! They’ve also been catching them in Boston Harbor so one would think there has to be some stirring in Green Harbor and Scituate Harbor now. Alewife numbers are getting thick in the Plymouth Town River, the Indian Head River and the Weymouth Back River. There is no news on shad yet, but their arrival could be within the week. What everyone really is hoping for is the arrival of that first shot of schoolies. Last year’s omnipresent 15-inch fish, which were from the very healthy Chesapeake Bay year class of 2015, should be about 18 inches now. When they arrive, they will light up bays in Plymouth and Duxbury as well as Green Harbor, the South and the North rivers, and Scituate Harbor.

Pre-striper obsession, your time might be best served giving the trout another look as many water bodies have received another, recent stocking.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Last year by this weekend, “class” was in session in Greater Boston. The prolific young-of-the-year class of striped bass born in Chesapeake Bay in 2015 hit the harbor hard, giving anglers a thrill that doesn’t happen every April. First up for fresh fish will be rivers, marshes and embayments. In addition to the rivers look for those 17” to 19” stripers to show up at World’s End, Hingham Harbor, Quincy Bay, the Lower Middle, Constitution Beach, the Lynn Marsh and Lynn Harbor. Water temperatures around Boston Harbor are colder than usual and that may delay their arrival, but you’ll never know unless you get out there and try! Stick with jigs, shads and plugs with crimped barbs; those nifty-fifties in the making must be handled respectfully to ensure survival.

Flounder fans of Fore River B&T in Quincy requested seaworms and once they got them they promptly went out there and caught flounder! Patrons of the shop did a little traveling after they got their seaworms and they found flatties in Scituate, Cohasset Harbor, Quincy Bay and Hospital Shoals. This was despite Boston Harbor registering a chilly 42.5 degrees! There even was some success with squid but those loligos were little to say the least at a mere 2 to 3 inches! Obviously, there’s no calamari potential there, so most squid are slated for the freezer to be used as bait for black sea bass when the season opens next month.

According to Mark of Monahan Marine in Weymouth, customers of the shop who fished the Northeast corner of Stellwagen did well for haddock while the Southwest Corner was barren. The sweet spot was around 130 feet of water with jigs/teasers from 10 to 12 ounces doing the job. Mark has been doing well with pre-spawn smallmouth bass from Glen Charlie Pond.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

According to Skip from Three Lantern Marine, things in the Gloucester area have not gotten off the ground yet but he has been hearing from the Yankee Fleet folks that the fishing is fine for haddock off Jeffrey’s Ledge. I’ve heard that The Curl section of New Scantum has been best. The shop is carrying seaworms if you’d like to try your luck for flounder off Niles Beach or the Dogbar Jetty.

Mike from Surfland told me that a few have been out for shad but so far nothing has been doing. Jameel who is a fireman on the North Shore told my friend Dave Panarello that the herring are stacked at the Lawrence Dam. While he’s awaiting the first wave of stripers and shad, he’s been indulging in smallmouth bass and pike from the same section. Jameel has organized a river clean-up which takes place this Saturday at 8 am. The earliest shad arrival spot is usually Rocks Village in West Newbury. Odds of catching something are better right now should you try for white perch in the Exeter/Squamscott Rivers off Great Bay in New Hampshire. These rivers are tidal so your Massachusetts saltwater license permits you to fish there.

Central Through Western Massachusetts Fishing Report

Woah, what a season kick-off for Quabbin Reservoir according to Rodney of Flagg’s Fly and Tackle in Orange. The top fish was a 6 ½-pound landlocked salmon taken off Gate 31 on a streamer trolled close to shore. There were a few 5-pounders taken as well and the fat fish are leading many to speculate that smelt numbers are on the rise. As for lakers, there are plenty with most averaging between 2 and 6 pounds. In fact, one forktail fan tallied 35 lake trout in one outing while fishing a shiner behind a Dave Davis flasher near the bottom. Word is that participation is down despite the stellar fishing.

Eddie of B&A in West Boylston said that the slight uptick in temperatures brought smallmouth bass in closer. Shorelines are navigable for the most part for those who would like to cast and cover a lot of ground. Eddie himself did some sampling of the fishing recently and found a 19” salmon and 18” rainbow willing to hit dillies in the Quinapoxet. Patrick Barone of Charter The Berkshires Outfitters has been shifting gears and taking advantage of the setbacks of the Connecticut River as well as coves of Berkshires water bodies. Big pickerel, bass and other predators are pushing forage in close now making jerkbaits the perfect foil. Having an assortment in different natural colors makes a difference; the goal is to match in size and coloration what the gamefish are feeding on. Shad have arrived in the Holyoke section of the Connecticut River.

Mike Didonna of the Deerfield Fly Shop said that the fishing is paralleling temperatures – it’s heating up. The shop offers float trips, wading trips and fly-fishing lessons, making it a one-stop fly fishing shop. Hot patterns are pheasant tail nymphs, natural/olive Caddis nymphs, black/brown golden stones, pink/orange hot spot nymphs, olive/black wooly buggers, pink/red squirmies and egg patterns.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

For those who crave salt as well as a hearty plate of fillets, the haddock fishing on Stellwagen Bank is hard to ignore. However, there appears to be an inshore rival in the groundfish/delicacy category as flounder are now feeding from Duxbury Bay through Quincy Bay. Freshwater fixes run the gamut from stocked brook trout in Pembroke’s Indian Head River to 6-pound salmon putting on aerial displays in Quabbin Reservoir.