Massachusetts Fishing Report – June 13, 2019

In spite of scientific studies and recent anecdotal evidence which has all pointed to the striped bass biomass not being what it should be, this season (albeit still in its infancy) is shaping up to be a pleasant surprise! From the onset, mixed classes of stripers have been our reality and now – you can throw top water mid-40” fish in the mix!

Thursday morning was definitely a day when many in these parts were in need of “Docs! While aboard Captain Brian Coombs Get Tight Sportfishing, the crew and I could have used one after suffering through the previous night’s hockey debacle and considering we were working on few winks, a prescribed “pick-me-up” wouldn’t have hurt either. But the reality was on this gloomy day the only “Doc” we really needed was white 9” Doc plugs as striped bass up to 30 pounds could not get enough of them, even though we were fishing in water as deep as 80’! Aside from a morning-long topwater bite, what was most neat about this outing was the mixture of year classes we were catching which is emblematic about this season so far. While we caught with everything we threw, including mackerel of course, it became apparent very quickly that the bigger profile plug was definitely culling out the cows from the calves and was far out-fishing subsurface offerings. Now is the time to start thinking big in spite of what might appear to be just a schoolie blitz; there is the real possibility that your personal best is lurking right underneath the little guys right now!
 

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

After a quiet spring, according to Captain Mark Petitt of Fire Escape Charters tons of schoolies have invaded The Race with a smattering of 30-34” fish mixed in! Mackerel will work as will vertically jigging something approximating a sand eel. You can find mackerel but you’ll have to travel east to Stellwagen or off Provincetown to find them since inshore areas have dried up.

Haddock fishing remains good but plan on fishing in water close to 200’ for a consistent catch.

The South Shore is hardly immune to big bass with “herring fever” according to Pete Belsan of Belsan of Belsan Bait in Scituate. Many in the midst of blitzes are seeing gulls picking up big sea herring! While herring will hit a sabiki rig, they are not hardy and make for poor live bait. Mackerel are a better selection and according to Pete can be found outside of Manomet and out to Stone Ledge. Bigger bass however have been caught while trolling/drifting the macks in deep water from Minot Light through Hull and out to Graves Light. At dawn/dusk or during inclement days, the topwater bite can be good regardless of the depth of water, the fish are that aggressive when feeding on herring. Pete said he’s been seeing CPR (catch, photograph and release) proof of 40-pound fish out deep! Be on the lookout for stripers living up to their rockfish moniker soon as lobsters shed their shells and bass begin sniffing around inshore likely lairs where lobsters live. There is still a haddock bite within 5 miles of Scituate but numbers are waning. Scituate Harbor and Green Harbor remain good for flounder even though few are catching limits.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Aboard the Little Sister while fishing for flounder, Captain Colby and crew are being “pestered” by striped bass. While the flatfish feed remains good at Deer Island Flats, Hospital Shoals, Rainsford Island, Hangman Island and off Peddock the incessant blitzing all around the boat has the skipper adding striped bass now to the schedule. Jason, who has multiple 50-pound stripers to his credit, knows a thing or two about how to work an eel and will be chartering nighttime trips. Depending on the situation the plan will vary between casting and drifting with a three-way rig over rock piles he knows intimately in Quincy/Hull. If you’ve never fished an eel with a three-way rig, you don’t know what you’re missing. There’s nothing like hearing the captain announce “fish on the screen”, you feel the hit and then all heck breaks loose in total darkness.

The appearance of big schools of sea herring have lit the fuse for big bass surface feeds. Much of that action is taking place in deep water off Minot, Hull, the outer islands and the North/South Channels. Not only is Captain Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing looking towards deeper water but so is Captain Paul Diggin’s of Reel Pursuit Charters. Paul has been putting patrons into schoolies inside the harbor if his group is interested in running-and-gunning after blitzes. However, east of the harbor between the BG Buoy and the B Buoy is where the larger fish lurk. If you’re looking for mackerel than start looking for surface swirls as soon as you clear Deer Island. Two other in-close locations are Flipp Rock and the 2 Can off Nahant.

Lisa from Fore River said that customers of the shop have caught fish up 35 pounds in the Graves Light area on mackerel. Those trolling a tube and worm are doing well between Sunken Ledge and Hangman Island.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem told me that surface feeds involving schoolies to small keepers are a regular occurrence at the mouths of rivers such as the Danvers, North and Bass River. As is the case elsewhere, bigger bass can be found in deeper water on mackerel by Children’s Island, Satan’s Rock, Halfway Rock and by Misery and Baker’s Islands. Squid can be caught off Nut Island and Marblehead Harbor.

Skip from Three Lantern Marine said that the appearance of pogies in Ipswich Bay has anglers anticipation a slug of bigger striped bass. Kayak anglers are trolling a tube-and-worm inside Gloucester Harbor and catching fish up to the lower 30” range. Mackerel have scooted out of the harbor and now can be found between The Groaner and The Salvages.

Martha from Surfland said that this year continues to be special compared to recent years but big fish are currently lacking. However, many are anticipating the ideal combination of waning tide/daybreak at the mouth of the Merrimack River. If you’re looking for mackerel be prepared to work for them by the Speckled Apron and up north to Hampton Shoals.

Fishing Forecast for Massachusetts

An interesting striped bass season just got infinitely more so thanks to the arrival of mid-30-inch to mid-40-inch fish in respectable numbers. In Cape Cod Bay a live mackerel, especially off The Race will not last long before it’s inhaled by a striper. On the South Shore mackerel matter for big bass while trolling from Minot Ledge through Thieves Ledge off Hull. Keep an eye out for busting bass as soon as you clear Deer Island and if you’re fishing in low light conditions it might be wise to break out the top water plugs, The mouths of North Shore rivers are most consistent for schoolie to small keeper bass but try deeper for bigger. Ipswich Bay has pogies and it’s probably only a matter of time before something big sniffs them out. Meanwhile the wait is on for low tide in the morning at the Merrimack River where something special always seems to happen!

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