Massachusetts Fishing Report - May 10, 2018

Right on time for Mother’s Day, we have yet another reason to be grateful, thanks to dear-old mom. However, this gift is from a different sort of “mom” as Mother Nature has brought on the arrival of mackerel. Combine this with the arrival of schoolies and a better flounder bite and there’s cause for celebration all around

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

The drought of good intel regarding the Plymouth area is over, thanks to the new partnership of Captain Mark Petit of Fire Escape Charters. His choice of ride is a 35-foot Luhrs and the name of his business reflects that he’s a retired firefighter. Mark is also very much involved with the Veteran Anglers Charters group who treat retired servicemen to fishing time on the water. Like most who have been hauling out to Stellwagen, there has been no shortage of haddock but what is newsworthy is that there are mackerel in Cape Cod Bay! Mark expects those 10” to 12” striper candy to find their way close to The Gurnet any day. He’s also heard of fresh schoolies around the Duxbury channel.

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters has a new boat also, in this case a 32-foot Cabo. His 32-foot Whaler Outrage was nothing to sneeze at, but he was looking for something more comfortable than a center console for his charters. Mark has found tinker mackerel near Stone Ledge, which are the ideal bait for the recently arrived schoolies that are now in the North River as well as Scituate Harbor. An ironic find is cod in close! One of Captain Rowell’s specialties is Race Point and he expects that to kick into gear very soon.

Captain Rich Antonio of Black Rose has found what most have experienced in recent outings, namely that the east wind/fog combination does not make for an offshore trip, so he’s been shifting gears toward scup in Buzzards Bay. The move proved to be prescient as a recent crew filled up a 250-quart Yeti cooler in half a trip! The bite is in 25 feet of water and the fish are not fussy, hitting both clams and mackerel. One of the keys is chumming.

“They are here!” So said Pete from Belsan’s Bait And Tackle even before I could get a question off! Schoolies, many of which are about 18 inches, have taken up in Green Harbor and the North River. Specific spots are Damon’s Point and by Bridge Street. Shad are cruising the North River/Indian Head River. Strangely there are no flounder reports yet from the South Shore, which is strange because in Boston the word is “limits”!

Greater Boston Fishing Report

During Captain Jason Colby’s last drift over the weekend before the Little Sister was to be temporarily pulled for a little medicinal treatment, the skipper noticed a change. After a brutal first few trips, the crew landed three and lost one in a very short time. The next time he set sail, I was fortunate enough to be on board and we limited out in spite of me sticking with 1/0 hooks for the first hour as I foolishly entertained thoughts of that first 4-pounder of the year. On the next outing, the crew limited out again, and this time there were four folks on board. It’s safe to say that the Quincy Bay flounder bite is on!

Norman from Monahan’s Marine in has been keeping a log regarding when the striper fishing heats up in the Weymouth Back River and Fore River, and his records indicate that things kick into gear around May 15. And, he wasn’t just referring to schoolies either as he has tallied fish up to 44” from the shore in both the Back and Fore River parks! In addition to a robust run in the Weymouth Back, some spillover has been occurring in the Weymouth Fore River and combined with efforts from the DMF and other agencies to resurrect that herring run, the Fore River is becoming a river to patronize. Norman’s favorite lures for bass with herring in their sites is white and black Slug-Gos and eel-colored SP Minnows. As the line between harbor holdovers and fresh fish continues to blur, bigger bass are figuring into the picture. Jameel Ortiz scored the first significant local linesider I know of, a 36” fish on a tube and worm! There’s nothing like a river full of herring to wake better bass out of their offseason slumber.

Darlene of Bob’s Bait Shack in Winthrop said that the founder fishing from Deer Island flats is picking up steam and there have been shore folks in on the catching as well. Customers are doing well for haddock on top of Stellwagen Bank and schoolies are appearing in just about all the local rivers.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that almost daily he’s hearing more reports of anglers catching stripers. They are getting them in the Danvers River, and I while I don’t have confirmation of catches, I know some are fishing from Red Rock in Lynn. There have also been a few fish taken on seaworms from the Saugus River, but so far they seem to be ignoring artificials. Those making trips for flounder in the Lynn/Swampscott area are being rewarded with a few during each outing. Boston blackback fishing was slow last week and it took a water temperature bump to 50 degrees for that to change, so be patient!

A few mackerel have been caught in the Salem/Beverly area and there are reports of squid in Gloucester. TJ from Three Lantern Marine told me that haddock can be found far closer than Jeffreys Ledge and Stellwagen. He mentioned Hills within 8 miles of the shoreline; some historically good ones are Hill 47, Hill 101 and Saturday Night Ledge. They are getting a few flounder in Gloucester Harbor but the wait is on for water temperatures to rise above 50 degrees for things to really get cooking. The shad fishing in the Merrimack has slowed down considerably. Odds are that next week interest will have shifted toward stripers in the Plum Island area as that arrival is looming.

Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

For a real whodunnit fishery, check out what Patrick Barone of Charter the Berkshires outfitters has been up to in the Connect River. Now that snowmelt from higher elevations is no longer an issue, water levels are moderating and clarity is improving making for better fishing. An SP Minnow tossed around the Holyoke Dam could hook a pike, an oversized walleye, or a 40-inch striper. Downsizing to a small bucktail may lead to a tight line thanks to a smallmouth bass, shad or walleye.

The word from Mike Didonna of the Deerfield Fly Shop is that conditions are improving thanks to dropping river levels and rising temperatures in the Deerfield and surrounding rivers. Water temps have reached the mid 50’s and the fish are getting quite active. The Miller River is reaching a more fishable water flow and the Westfield is expected to improve also. There has been some sporadic surface action but all fish on the guided trips have been taken with deeper presentations. Soft hackle wet flies will start to come into play over the next couple weeks and they tend to produce spectacular, vicious surface strikes! And as Mike Dumais of Northboro experienced, now is not the time to go all in on the salt and abandon Wachusett Reservoir. In the midst of a seven nice-fish outing, Mike hooked a forked-tail freight train which gave all for a five minute, drag-pulling battle until it pulled off – ouch!

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

The ideal Mother’s Day present may not be a day on the water fishing for mackerel, but it could be, because they are here! The first striper salvo has hit rivers and estuaries from Duxbury to the Danvers River and it’s only going to get better. Flounder have firmly strapped on the feed bag in Boston Harbor and haddock are cooperating only a few miles outside of Gloucester Harbor. You’d be foolish to ignore freshwater fishing, however, with the Holyoke area giving up a veritable aquarium of species and lunker lakers still in close at the Chu’!