Environmental conditions are varied enough to baffle the senses. Popping foliage doesn’t ordinarily mix with 70 degree air temperatures and 58 degree water temperatures but we’ll take it! What’s also not too tough to take is plenty of stripers (and even a few blues) still up north and they aren’t all schoolies.
Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report
Fish of many varieties are probably breathing a big sigh of relief since Captain Mark Petitt of Fire Escape Charters is mothballing his boat until next spring. He did throw us a parting nugget regarding bass and blues which are still putting on surface shows in the Three Bays!
For offshore jaunts, tuna and haddock are still hitting from Stellwagen Bank and into Cape Cod Bay.
Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters is still keeping an 18’ Whaler at the ready for a speedy response to a hot bite. The bite he took advantage of recently was blackfish in Buzzards Bay, just beyond the west end of the canal. The crew mixed in a slug of schoolies, the surface histrionics of which proved just too tempting to pass on.
Haddock are still no sweat from Stone Ledge while bigger fish-on-average can be found in over 200-feet of water east of the bank. Porbeagle sharks and mixed sizes of tuna are also on a tear throughout Stellwagen. Pete from Belsan Bait in Scituate second the Stone Ledge haddock thing. He also had a reliable report of a 24-inch bonito caught off Marshfield. Forty-five pounds of “flounder” was caught from the bank recently and as is usually the case that halibut fell for fish.
The blackfish bite just continues to get better for Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters as water temperatures drop and the fish become more aggressive and begin to aggregate. Any day now, cod from Coxes Ledge should move into the Westport side of Buzzards Bay as well. Don’t worry about switching gear of tactics for the brown bombers, they will be looking for the same crab dinner as the tautog.
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Greater Boston Fishing Report
While most charter captains rides are cloaked in white plastic, Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing is still catching striped bass, in fact during one day he tallied nearly 100 fish! At this juncture of the fall run, it’s especially a right time/right place equation but fish are still to be found! He’s also open to taking charters groundfishing and for steady action that’s Boston’s best bet right now.
Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle said that anglers are grabbing gills of grass shrimp which means that some are catching smelt! The marinas of Quincy have been the most consistent so far, with Marina Bay getting a special nod. No word from Hull, Hingham or Winthrop but those historically have been among the hottest for smelt. The shop is selling clams and seaworms with the former being used for stripers off Nanatasket while the worms are working well for winter flounder off Peddock Island. Lobstermen have been finding tautog in their traps! Lisa suspects that the tog are being trapped by Toddy’s Rocks. The last two reports sure were unexpected. For haddock, customers are only having to haul as close to the B Buoy to find them!
Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that he’s not hearing of any stripers stirring in the Salem location as of late. Fortunately the report from a little farther north is much more promising! Most of his customers have been hunting for haddock at Jeffrey’s Ledge, Tillies Basin and the muscle beds section of Stellwagen. Those same areas are holding mixed sizes of tuna and numerous porbeagles with some of the sharks taking jigs intended for groundfish.
There have been a few pinch-me days lately with the keepsake combination of clement weather and little wind, last Sunday was one of them and I hope you were out there! I was lucky enough to be giving it a go on the groundfish grounds with my friends Captain Tom Ciulla of T Sea Charters and John Frassica. It’s hard to say which was sweeter the conditions or the action as we found willing haddock, cusk and catch-and-release cod 15-miles out of Gloucester in about 210-feet of water. I stuck with a chrome Sea Wolfe Cod Bomb along with a red Cod Fly teaser and can’t recall 15-minutes when I didn’t have a bite, it’s that good out there right now!
Once again the most impressive striper report this week was provided by the Plum Island folks at Surfland. Liz said that the ocean front remains hot for schoolies to keeper-plus fish! There was even an angler in the shop as we spoke who said that he had just caught an 18-inch bluefish! The ocean front from the shop all the way to Sandy Point is still sizzling with much of the catching happening with Dannys and Super Strike Poppers. Evenings have been best with high tide better than low tide. And what just might be best of all is that pressure has fallen off the cliff.
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Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report
As much as I’m still into the salt, five minutes into Chu’ talk with Eddie of B&A I was beginning to waver! He told me he’s been seeing pictures of 5 to 6-pound landlocked salmon which have been caught – and released! – from the Quinapoxet and Stillwater Rivers! Flies and lures have all been doing the trick. Eddie caught a 3-pound, brilliantly colored rainbow from the Quinnie and he has seen pictures of bigger still! Browns are getting active and so are four pound-class bronzebacks with the latter hitting by the Cellar Holes. The laker fishing is pretty good also. The tinder to all this hot fishing is smelt and schools of them swimming around are common.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Schoolie and snapper surface action among the Three Bays is the South Shore’s best inshore bet. On the South Coast tog action is terrific and with water temperatures slipping below 60 degrees it’s only going to get better. In the harbor be prepared to stay on the move to get a last crack at migrating stripers. Plum Island, however, remains as productive as any spot in the Bay State for striped bass with evening endeavors the best. If you can shake the salt out of your system, Wachusett offers impressive cold water species fishing with the only caveat being where to begin.
Another great report Ron, as you said the sweet water is calling. Salt is slowing and there are good fresh water options.