Massachusetts Fishing Report – August 15, 2019

What seemed to be an inexhaustible supply of pogies is now showing limitations. You can still find them, but it’s taking valuable time and effort. Some sharpies, however, have simply switched gears and are now saying goodbye to snag-and-drop and hello to tube-and-worm.

Almost overnight the Bay State seems to have turned totally to tubes. Even the staunchest live bait charter captains as well as the commercial guys are passing on the snag hooks and are asking tackle shops to please pass the mustard – honey mustard tubes that is.
 
For tube technique, tweaks and tips, I didn’t have to do much searching – I simply called my friend Pete Santini. His namesake tube is a patented and proven cow killer and a staple wherever striped bass swim. The first question I asked him about was color, to which he replied that if he had to pick two colors to start with, he’d go with red and black. The red being perhaps more versatile with black being better between dusk and dawn. For murky water and rocky habitat, orange gets the nod; it’s little wonder with favorite prey – lobster and crabs – sporting a lot of orange and tending to congregate among structure. When squid are on the menu, pink is about perfect. But then there are times when the fish are fussy making the more natural honey mustard the preference. Above all, lead core line is a must with a 10’ fluorocarbon leader keeping things stealthy. Pound test can vary from as light as 30 to 50-pound depending on the conditions with the former sometimes delivering more bites. Regarding technique, trolling as slow as your ride will let you is best and make sure that tube is ticking along just above the bottom. As for the seaworm, don’t skimp if you’re shooting for the cows, a select section of worm is more apt to get their attention. In my experience, a little dab of BioEdge Sandworm or Bloodworm often makes a difference. If you’ve gone bonkers about bunker but getting a little frustrated right now than join the club – try trolling them up with a tube.

Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report

As good as the striper fishing has been, the mixed-sizes tuna bite just might be better according to Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters. The edges of Stellwagen Bank feature world-class fishing for a world-class fish right now. All methods are working from trolling to live bait under anchor but the most sporting right now is probably running-and-gunning while tossing soft plastics and topwater plugs at these speed demons. Mark is rigged up with Shimano Saragossa 20000s, 80-pound Power Pro and tossing Orcas, Butterfly Jigs and RonZs at the tuna. It seems crazy but his advice is that with everything from footballs to giants erupting on bait, it’s best to pick the right size pelagic before you give chase to avoid being hooked in an hours-long deathmatch with a beast you can’t control. When asked to equip the readers with an edge – he suggested finding an “edge”. The fish are not on the bank but at the depth breaks.

Instead of talking striper, the first words from Belsan Bait owner Pete when we spoke was “holy mackerel” as he described the fishing on the South Shore. Third and Fourth Cliff have given up multiple 50” striped bass on pogies recently. Pete’s also heard good news about Green Harbor with perhaps a more consistent bluefish bite down south as well. Every year the subject of fluke comes up as inadvertent catches of keepers (17” minimum) are taken by The Spit and at the mouth of the Herring River. The question always becomes one of wondering what would happen if more anglers actually targeted those toothy flounder.

According to Captain Mark Petitt of Fire Escape Charters there are lots of blues off of Provincetown, but it seems devoid of bass. The pogies and bass, for now, appear to have moved north of the Three Bays. In Cape Cod Bay, Scorton Creek through Barnstable is holding a lot of schoolies with the occasional big girl mixed in.

Captain Jason Colby’s first striper attempt on the Westport side of Buzzards Bay was a successful one as he and buddies Zach and Armindo quickly ran through their eel supply. The average size bass they pulled onto the Little Sister were good ones averaging about 15 to 18-pounds. The black sea bass fishing is the best he’s ever experienced there with humpheads up to 5-pounds nearly routine. And perhaps best of all, much of the action is while squidding, which is a unique version of vertical jigging. They are also finding blackfish among rockpiles.

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Greater Boston Fishing Report

Captain Anthony Ahrens of Chasin’ Tail Fisheries said that the drop in water temperatures has paralleled a drop in pogy numbers. There have been no worries according to the skipper as he’s been shifting quarry towards tuna with the best part being the availability of smaller, spinning-gear-friendly fish willing to hit all manner of stuff between the NE corner of Stellwagen out to Wildcat. Just be prepared for potential heartbreak as giants are occasionally crashing offerings intended for smaller tuna. For bass, he’s focusing on the North Channel and Nahant with mackerel and Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows the baits of choice.

Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing has even been mixing in a little tube play in with his calling card Docs and pogy repertoire. It often changes and pogies by the acres could suddenly appear almost out of the mud, but the schools have been taking a month’s long hit from everything from seiners to humpback whales and attrition has taken its toll. The bass bite continues to be a varied one from deep water first light/last light plugs-on-top stuff to bait among Broad Sound. Brian did say that he freshened up on his tube techniques at the hall of the tube king in Everett and Mr. Santini modified his methods and now he’s catching cows with them. Lynn has been getting a lot of attention and when asked about that, Peter laughed and said that other inshore areas from Deer Island through Revere Beach are at least as good now and feature far fewer anglers. Captain Coombs has been switching up and catching Charlie and the fun has been just slightly north of Boston and within 5 miles of the shoreline. Hogy soft plastics have been doing the damage.

Lisa from Fore River B&T said that there have been a few blues taken off Nantasket Beach as well as Wollaston Beach. Squid are an easy mark off Nut Island and Pemberton Pier but while numerous are on the small side.

After a brief hiatus to refresh some canopy amenities aboard Reel Pursuit Charters, Captain Paul Diggins is back in the game. His modus operandi over the foreseeable future is to haul out to the B Buoy, jig up some macks and pound those inshore areas which are lacking pogies right now. He mentioned the PR Can, through the NC Can and out to the BG Buoy as targeted areas to “bump-troll”.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

While other segments of Massbay have a fluctuating population of pogies, there is no such problem in Cape Ann through Ipswich Bay – they are loaded with pogies. The key is to remain active when snagging and dropping.

My friend Captain Tom Ciulla is a master of culling the cows out of pogy pods and he employs an energetic pace that most aren’t willing to endure. If the skipper does not immediately hook-up, he pulls off the hooked pogy and moves back onto the school in search of another bait fish. The stripers are in tight with the pogies and a distance of as little as 20’ can make all the difference in the world. It’s a real workout aboard the T Sea but looking around I don’t see many others catching at the captain’s pace.

Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle told me that the tube is in steadier rotation now among his regulars. He mentioned Manchester and Magnolia as some of the North Shore’s more reliable locations. The kayak kids have been doing well at night casting and trolling Gravity Tackle 13 1/2” eels. Squid are flourishing from Nahant through Gloucester with experienced anglers having no problem topping off a pail from lit piers, docks and boats. Some are live-lining the squid and catching quality stripers on site.

Liz from Surfland said that the Plum Island pogy promenade continues with that bait in abundance. A few are mixing mackerel in the equation and reporting that the bait switch up is resulting in more action. In the past macks have been available by the Speckled Apron as well as farther north by Hampton Shoal Ledge. The oceanfront has been good and dropping water temperatures have resulted in more action inshore by Joppa Flats and Plum Island Sound.

Fishing Forecast for Massachusetts

Mixed sizes of tuna at the edges of Stellwagen Bank have resulted in a very special spinning gear bite that doesn’t happen every year. Anglers just have to be good at gauging the size Charlie they are casting to for fear of losing more than just one’s nerve. The bluefish action off Provincetown remains steady and the best the Bay State has to offer. Big black sea bass are almost child’s play at the Westport side of Buzzards Bay with stripers on eels at night making for a full fishery. If you’re looking for a South Shore cow, a live pogy at Third or Fourth Cliff is a solid choice. In Boston, with the sudden (and maybe temporary) dearth of pogies, the tube-and-worm trolled inshore off Winthrop, Revere and Lynn has become the go-to offering. Up north there is no such worry at a lack

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