Massachusetts Fishing Report- May 2, 2019

Odds are that the next six months of your life are going to be very different, because – “they” are here! Fresh striped bass have cruised into town and have made it as far up as the North Shore! The hunt for haddock got a little easier this week and there’s even news of a favorite flatfish becoming much more cooperative.

Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Report

No sooner did I get a text from a very excited Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing on the last day of April, saying that he had found a pile of Buzzards Bay bass, than I got a similar message from my north shore fishing friend Dave Flaherty that he too found fresh fish! In one fell swoop, it appears that a massive striper drop has graced the Bay State! Unlike some years, the first wave of migrants has not all been micros either, with some fish up to 27 inches long! Now that the stripers are here, I get the feeling that your Power Bait Jars are going to get very dusty!

South Shore

Pete Belsan heard the good news regarding fresh stripers from shop regulars who tallied lots of fish into the low 20 inch range in the North River! Rivers, estuaries, marshes – you name it, shallow, upstream areas is where you’ll find the warmest water, the bait and the bass.

Rivers with herring will attract the biggest early season bass with biologist tagging studies showing that they return to the same successful spots year after year. Belsan’s best bets on the South Shore for early success are Ellisville Harbor, the Eel River, the Town River, the Cordage and Powder Point Bridge in the “Three Bay” area. Farther north, Green Harbor is a good bet as are upstream of Bridge Street in the North River as well as the South River section closest to Rexhame Beach.

Court karma and go easy on those schoolies by opting for single hook offerings such as bucktail jigs and all manner of soft plastics/jigheads. Maybe Neptune will show his appreciation for your careful handling of those young fish by gifting you with a personal best this year. Shad have entered the North River and Indian Head River with dusk to dawn being the most effective time to catch these skinny water shad. Some haddock have moved onto the bank but for more reliable action, east and north are still fishing best.

Greater Boston

For Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters out of Quincy, the third time really was the charm, at least when it came to finding haddock on Tuesday! The skipper found a bunch inside of Stellwagen Bank and once the chum began taking affect, patrons began hauling them in two-at-a-time! You did read that correctly, Jason chums near the bank. Anchoring and chumming in 180 feet of water is not for everyone, but then results say it all. While Captain Colby has a few more haddock trips on his itinerary, his primary target for the next few months will be flounder.

Those prospects for flounder are looking more encouraging thanks to a report from Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing on Sunday. In spite of miserable conditions, Brian put 7 flatties up to 15 inches in the boat! For April in the modern era that is indeed impressive! The captain was using Fishing FINatics Zobo rigs and employed both worms and clams. Not surprisingly the larger flounder hit the clams. Regarding Fishing FINatics, the proprietor of that shop Pete Santini suggests the mouths of the Charles River and the Mystic River as early season schoolie favorites. The Saugus River is also a May favorite.

South of Boston, the ladies of Fore River are steering customers towards Cohassett Harbor/Mill River, World’s End/Weir River, Webb Park, the Weymouth Back River and the mouth of the Neponset River. Another noteworthy spot is the outflow of Black Creek where it dumps into Wollaston Beach.

North Shore

It’s always time well spent browsing the impressive tackle/gear selection at Tomo’s Tackle in Salem but on Wednesday while picking up some stuff I overheard a report which made it sweeter still.

A patron talked of standing on a high rock on the North Shore and watching a school of stripers cruising along just below his feet. While I didn’t get the “where” part of the report, Tomo figured it was somewhere in the Swampscott/Marblehead stretch. Some likely linesider lairs in that area to consider are Red Rock in Lynn, Preston Beach in Swampscott and Castle Rock in Marblehead. Closer to Salem, Tomo expects fresh fish to appear any day where Forest River empties into Salem Harbor as well as Obear Park and the Danvers River.

A few flounder are stirring in Lynn Harbor, Marblehead Harbor, Salem Harbor and Beverly Harbor. If you’re in the shop looking for an early season winner consider the 4” pearl Al Gag’s paddletail/jighead. On Wednesday afternoon, my buddy Dave tore them up on the North Shore between 25 and 27 inches with those baits!

The Three Lantern Marine crew out of Gloucester, are bracing for the first batch of bass to invade the Gloucester area and when it happens the Little River/Annisquam River should be first on the list! Other Cape Ann early season striper spots are the Essex River, Plum Island Sound, the Parker River, Joppa Flats and the mouth of the Merrimack River.

Liz from Surfland was quite pleased to hear my report of fresh fish on the way! While she had no striper reports, she did say that the shad run was now in full swing with some fish now being found farther upstream than the West Newbury section of the Merrimack River. Haddock have pushed onto top sections of Southern Jeffrey’s Ledge.

Massachusetts Freshwater Report

Eddie of B&A Bait in West Boylston said that regulars are catching a lot of smallies at the Chu’ on heavy-medium shiners and some of these bronzebacks are between 4 1/2 and 5 pounds! Best bets are Gate 6, Gate 13 and Gate 35. Smelt remain the attractant for salmonoids of all sorts and anglers have been seeing salmon porpoising out of the water into the bait balls.

The “triangle” between the causeway and then Stone Church has been hot for rainbows and the occasional salmon. Richie Johnson has been hooking both with gold Kastmasters. As good as Wachusett Reservoir has been, Quabbin has been hotter according to Rod from Flagg’s in Orange.

Twin 17 pound lakers were caught practically side by side recently off Gate 43 by Egypt Cove. One was taken by a rental boat and the other a private skiff. Word has it that the two anglers took each other’s photos and then released the fish! Rod recommends for fish of that size to drop as big a baitfish as you can find (10” suckers anyone?) in front of marked fish for a shot at a 36” laker of your own.

For salmon, troll a Fire Smelt or Canopache streamer close to shore or over humps. There’s no need to fish deeper than 10 feet at the moment. Bright colors with plenty of orange in the presentation is the key. Gate 35 has been good for smallmouth up to 5 pounds! Simply put there’s a lot going on right now in the Quabbin.

Where there has not been a lot going on lately according to Patrick Barone of Charter The Berkshires, is the Connecticut River due to the vicious current. However, the Holyoke section will get a gift by this weekend as there are plans to lower the water levels for a shad tournament. Next week Patrick should be back in the game and ready to be booked for shad, walleye, pike and other gamesters.

Fishing Forecast

The wait, which seemed like light years, is finally over – the striped bass are back! On the South Shore check out the outflow off Ellisville Harbor in Plymouth, the Cordage in Kingston or the Powder Point section of Duxbury. Green Harbor is a good bet as is the North River and Cohasset Harbor. In Greater Boston, the herring runs of the Weymouth Back, Charles and Mystic Rivers should attract the biggest bass of the first wave. While the North Shore braces for the seven-striped onslaught some are making do with harbor flounder and Jeffrey’s haddock!

Let us help you find a fishing charter for Greater Boston, the South Shore, or the North Shore.