Massachusetts Fishing Report - July 5, 2018

 

The combination of swarming pogies and surging water temperatures have made for an interesting go throughout Mass Bay. Finding pogies is the easy part, but finding big bass with the bait – not so much! You’ll find redemption with a two-pronged approach –  find the “right” school of pogies and find the right water temperature!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the passing of Kay Moulton to lead-off this report. Generations of anglers who worshipped at the altar of the striped bass regarded Surfland as hallowed ground, and it was Kay who made that place special. From my perspective as someone who calls the shop weekly, I learned to appreciate the no-frills reports she gave me, which were dead-on accurate. It was obvious from the start that Surfland was a no-spin shop. I also appreciated how she would scold anglers who flashed incessant grab and grin photos of stripers, voicing concern for the survival of the released fish. We all have our stories of Kay that make us smile, and I’m sure somewhere she’s smiling knowing that Surfland remains in the capable hands of her daughters, Liz and Martha.

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

While some were lamenting the continuous triple H of this past week – hot, hazy and humid – for fans of fluke such as Captain Mark Petitt of Fire Escape Charters, the steamy temperatures were just the thing for toothy flounder. While the “three bays” of Plymouth, Kingston and Duxbury aren’t likely to make any top ten fluke lists, those fish can be caught here and during sultry summers those numbers surge! For me personally, while I’ve chased fluke as far south as Connecticut, I caught my biggest ‘mat in good old Duxbury Bay! Considering what the mercury has been registering as of late, this year may shape up as a better one than most. Stripers however do not appreciate 68-70 degree water temperatures, which makes the deeper/cooler water from Race Point to Wood End a better bet for bass at the moment than inshore. Haddock have migrated to their summertime haunts, which means that you had better be prepared to drop your offering to somewhere between 250 to 300 feet down. Also, be on the lookout for sharks, with warming temperatures sightings are up.

Pete from Belsan’s over the weekend shot me text message after text message about patrons clobbering big bass on pogies off Minot Light. However, it looks as if that action did not have legs. That’s not surprising considering how hot the water has gotten and the colossal ribbon of pogies that extends well into Maine!

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters has been putting patrons into big bass up to 53” long! While mackerel aren’t as easy a pick as some years they can still be found at the edges of Stellwagen Bank and sometimes as close as the 21 Can for early risers. The skipper said that lobster pot scopes, while tricky to navigate, often are the key to finding mackerel. Here’s one that could pay dividends up the road – Captain Rowell is finding a ton of baby inshore cod. In fact, often he’s coming up with a full rack on his Sabiki rig.

Boston Harbor Fishing Report

To a trained eye, finding pogies in the harbor should be no problem. But not every school of bait has bass snooping around under them. One “problem” some are encountering is the sheer number of pogies. Should you fail to get the attention of a striper on a live pogy, then offer them something different. Toss a RonZ, Bill Hurley, Savage Sand Eel or a sinking Sebile Stick Shadd beyond the school and work it below the school. This method can be deadly when a live or chunk pogy comes up with nothing. Some of the more consistent spots have been Moonhead Island, Spectacle Island and the Lower Middle of the Harbor.

Captain Paul Diggins of Reel Pursuit Charters has been putting patrons into a trifecta of harbor treats beginning with black sea bass, then moving onto flounder and topping the day off with keeper striped bass. There’s no truth to the rumor however that Paul’s working on a white marlin encore option for his clients! The flounder have been productive off Peddocks Island, the black sea bass are biting off Hull, and in order to ensure there are keepers for the crew, the striper fishing is consisting of live mackerel between the BG Buoy and the B Buoy.

There isn’t much that can slow down Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sport Fishing. When fish are biting better an hour from port, no problem, he just hauls his ride/charter down there. If a customer gets a big bass tangled in a lobster pot, no problem (don’t try this at home folks!) he jumps in and frees the fish! The latest challenge was a blown outboard cylinder head, so what does he do? He forks over a wad of cash for a new (and improved) outboard. After all that, the fishing should be easy! Brian’s finding macks at 4:30 in the morning by picking around between Flipp Rock and the Eastern Point of Nahant. When the pick is slow, he’ll often dead stick a stringer of mackerel in order to keep the school nearby until he fills up with bait. This is a desperate move, but when the goal is a bait well full of this magical bait, you have to think differently. The latest difference maker is intel he’s getting about a big bass on bunker bite off Swampscott, stay tuned!

If you’re wondering about Captain Colby and his exploits, he’s ready to pull  The Little Sister to fish for the cornucopia of critters which call the Westport side of Buzzards Bay home. That will bring along fresh information for this column from the South Coast.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

It’s no exaggeration to state that the North Shore is awash with pogies. From Swampscott through Kettle Cove in Beverly out toward Thatcher Island and on past the New Hampshire border, there is a swath of pogies so thick some are calling it like “the good old days”! There is a complication, however. Not every pogy school has striped bass and with water temperatures in many areas cresting 70 degrees, which is well past the stripers comfort zone, not every striper shadowing the pogies is in a mood to eat a pogy. Every shop owner I spoke to said that it is important to search for pogy schools that are under siege. The surest indication that you have found the right school is when the fish are tightly packed and occasional pogies even become airborne. Should you find a “relaxed” looking school just meandering around, skip it and move on to another school.

Just this past Thursday evening, some anglers found just such a school off Swampscott and there were 30-pound-plus fish pushing the school! What’s impressive is that many of the fish I’m hearing being taken under the bait are 30- to 40-pound stripers! Big, “rushed” schools of pogies have also been observed off Misery Island in Beverly. My friend Captain Tom Ciulla put his T Sea CC into the thick of an insane school of pogies, sea herring and big bass near Thatcher’s Island last Saturday. The eventual tally was 12 cows between 43” and 48”! What was most interesting was that the bigger bass were not caught on bait but instead on a white RonZ with a 1 ½-ounce jighead. The bigger bass hunker down below everything else and are masters at conserving their energy. A live pogy is a tough catch but a slow moving “white eel” close by is an easy mark.

Captain Chris Valaskatgis of Manolin Charters is finding good fish by paying as much attention to his temperature gauge as he is his fish finder. With no shortage of bait, Chris is convinced that pockets of cooler temperatures are the surest way to find active fish. As proof he loaded up on pogies and actually found cooler water upstream a bit in the Merrimack River where he also found mid-30-inch stripers for his charter.

Mike from Surfland echoed what most everyone else has been saying, namely that finding the right pogy school is the key to the cows. Some have been doing just that in 80’ of water off Plum Island and catching mid-30-pound stripers.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Unless water temperatures take a dramatic nose dive, striped bass fishing will remain a deep-water game for boaters and night-stalking pursuit for surf fishers. If you have the ride and Wood End to Race Point is within reach, that remains one of the best bass bites around. Black sea bass are an interesting option off Hull, with the Gut, Rainsford Island and George’s Island good choices also for this “southern” visitor. For stripers in the harbor, Spectacle Island as well as the Lower Middle with the close proximity to tidal/river flows are places to keep in mind. The North Shore quandary is less about finding bait but rather willing bass. Here’s a hint, locate the coolest water you can find along with “nervous” pogies!