While the messenger and delivery may differ, the message is pretty similar – the fishing is really good out there! Fresh stripers, easy flounder and haddock limits and plenty of bait. Who could reasonably ask for more?
Massachusetts South/Boston Fishing Report
Oh, did I neglect to mention black sea bass and scup? That’s what Captain Mark Antonio of Black Rose Charters is walloping in Buzzards Bay. Five minutes into hearing Rich’s account of the BBBSBB – Buzzards Bay black sea bass bite – I wanted to drop everything and peddle my kayak out there to see if I could find them! The BSBs are spawning right now and are nothing if not aggressive. It is not unusual to reel in a female and find multiple males chasing her right to the surface! Rich said he is actually sight fishing to select frenzied fish and dropping his offering right in front of the chosen specimen – it is that easy! Flies and all manner of artificial wares are working as is squid and clams. After the crew gets their fill of the bass, he’s anchoring up and having his way with slab scup! He’s also been putting some time between Stellwagen Bank and CCB where there is no shortage of whales, dolphin, sharks, haddock, mackerel and sand eels!
Captain Mark Pettit of Fire Escape Charters said that plus-size haddock have moved well into CCB! Many of these fish are 25” mackerel/sand eel eating machines. The area is alive out there with whale shows, basking shark sightings and all kinds of critters. The Three Bays are loaded with stripers with bigger fish following the mackerel schools. What’s also exciting for this time of the year is the volume of pogies. Consider the wick lit once those cows come to graze!
Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters said that haddock have moved into only 90’ of water! The skipper has a bead on them and expects them to hang in close to shore until they move off the SW corner of Stellwagen. Mackerel, especially tinkers, are plentiful with a live one not lasting long in Scituate Harbor where schoolies to slots are swarming.
Pete Belsan’s of Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said two words I haven’t heard from him in years – flounder limits! Pete’s the second source I’ve heard from about an uptick of flatties in Scituate Harbor! Although I haven’t heard it personally, I bet the same can be said for Green Harbor. Pogies are more numerous on the South Shore at this time than in years. As for stripers, if you’re not catching than you need to read On The Water more, they are everywhere! For a chance at a better bass however, stick with a pogy school because sooner or later there will be something big enough to inhale one or troll mackerel east of Minot’s Ledge.
Greater Boston Fishing Report
If you can hit the pause button on striped bass fever, Captain Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett has an interesting alternative to take advantage of regarding trophy trout. Along with his brother Bobby, Pete pointed their ride to Plymouth’s Long Pond and had en epic day of trolling. Rainbows, browns, brookies and tigers were all cooperating and hitting all manner of spoons and Finnish minnow lures. And some of the trout were pushing 5 pounds! All were released and ready to be caught another day!
As for the harbor, Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing took a break from Buzzards Bay black sea bass bedlam and took top-notch lure maker Al Gags out and treated him to fantastic flounder fishing on Deer Island Flats.
Regarding flounder, it’s one thing to hear of superb flounder fishing on Captain Jason Colby’s Little Sister, but when others are joining in on the fun, than it’s more of a normal indicator that things are good! Of course aboard the Little Sister, flounder fishing is on another level and now the goal is shifting to bigger blackbacks. Figures don’t lie and invariably the “Governor’s Cup” flounder is caught aboard the Little Sister. He’s finding the haddock fishing still lights out with average size still impressive.
Captain Sam from Boston Saltwater almost didn’t know where to start when we visited. He’s been finding a good topwater bite in the harbor river herring runs and there are schoolie surface feeds throughout the harbor. The sweet weather we’ve been having has been an enabler to consistent haddock runs where limits have been no problem. Haddock remain relatively close in with anglers finding fish not long after they clear the B Buoy.
Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy provided the first report and picture I know of regarding 40” class fresh local stripers! As much as I’d like to flash the photo, I took a pass because of the way the fish was held. There have been other fish of similar size taken with the hot spots being near the Weymouth Back River as well as Bumpkin and Grape Islands. Red Santini Tubes have been the ticket to early season trophies. Captain Paul Cuzzupe has been clobbering harbor schoolies from Castle Island through the Lower Middle with his CC (Cuzzupe Clouser) while aboard On The Rocks!
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Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
While listening to an impressive report from Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle, I brought up the big Boston bass photo and why I didn’t care for it. That prompted us to reflect about Kay, Martha’s mom and an icon in fishing circles in these parts. One of the many things I respected her for was how ahead of the curve she was regarding striped bass conservation and care exercised during the release. Woah be to the angler who strutted into the shop flashing glory shots on his phone while recklessly holding stressed 25-pound stripers! While polite, she would sternly let them know that odds were that that striper was a dead striper! Martha brought up an interesting phrase from one of Surfland’s sharpies who said that he only holds a striper out of the water for about as long as he can hold his breath! During an ad hoc experiment, I found that for me that was about 90 seconds. From now on that will be my limit and maybe something you should consider as well!
Sam from Tomo’s Tackle told me that from Saugus through Cape Ann, schoolies through slot fish are swarming backwaters and off the rocks. Flounder fishing is better than in years with solid reports coming in from Lynn, Swampscott, Marblehead, Beverly and Manchester. Catch and release cod are in close as are mackerel and bigger-than-usual pollock. In fact Sam caught a 25-inch specimen of the Cape Ann crags while casting for stripers!
Pogies are no problem according to Matt from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester. While there are no reports of stripers big enough to dispatch one of them, the clock is ticking on them. Fresh from South Shore reports of close-in haddock, I asked Matt if there was anything similar on the North Shore. Matt deadpanned, “Everything is close up here!” I totally forgot how the geography of Cape Ann puts the boater minutes away from Southern Jeffrey’s, Tillies and northern Stellwagen! Haddock fishing remains great and flounder fortunes are good in Manchester Harbor and Gloucester Harbor. The mackerel mob have moved in close and just outside of the harbor.
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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Buzzards Bay black sea bass fishing is as close to a sure thing on the South Coast as you will find, with slab scup a pretty good supporting cast. CCB haddock are in as shallow as 90’ of water, the size of which is impressive to the where measuring is almost superfluous. While schoolies are a slam dunk, better bass should be found very soon while trolling mackerel near established migration routes such as Minot Ledge and the ledges off Hull and out to the BG Buoy. Santini tubes dragged near the harbor herring runs or inner harbor islands are resulting in drag-pulling linesiders already. Flounder from Quincy Bay through Cape Ann has been a highlight this year. However, with plentiful pogies and inshore mackerel, odds are that that will be supplanted sooner than later as the cows come calling.
Three bays lit up this morn, git your game on! Tight lines .
Draggers spoiled a really nice day off of Boston….cleaned the area of haddock
Draggers should be the first thing outlawed in the ocean.
I agree. Look at what they did to the cod. Cant stand them…
Great comments/policy on treatment of to be released strippers Ron, keep up the great work
Why can’t we have discussion and get legislation passed to keep draggers outside of the inland fishing grounds around the islands and outer Boston Harbor- Wollaston off Quincy- Allerton and outer Hull Islands and Weymouth-Plymouth etc. all the way to Duxbury and the head of Cape Cod Canal. With Very strict penalties and enforcement. THe Canal fishing improved remarkably since passing the slot limits on bass and catch /release canal fish and more importantly all pf the bait schools that make it to safety inland and to harbors shoild not be allowed to be dregged or netted. This would improve conservation measures, improve fishing, allow for contined growth of the bio masses of varied fish species as well. Every year the dreggers come in and KILL it for us fishermen and take all the bait. This is so ridiculous. There has to be full continuity throughout the entire system of Nature. Only continuity will protect the various species and allow growth year to year and improve fishing fro everyone, and off shore recreational fishing .
A friend of mine is a lifelong commercial fisherman. He used to occasionally go on on draggers. He likened it to raping the sea. The bycatch alone is indiscriminate and the amount of bait they pull from the water is disgusting. I am amazed there are any fish left. I agree with you RIchard.
It is the same with draggers here in Falmouth and Vineyard Sound. They do rape the ocean floor and are totally indiscriminate as Cal points out. If they are dragging for squid, just see what else comes out of the net and onto the deck when the draw string is pulled. Why they are allowed to fish inshore is beyond me. It’s the same thinking at the state level that always waits until it is too late or nearly too late to impose reasonable restrictions as certain fish populations (stripers, blues) crash.
Not much detail in the Plum Island report.
Hey Ron hope things are well with you. Thought you might want to know I took a 12 lb 12 oz Laker on the 22nd Sat. My 6th 10lb+ So far.” Tight Lines Jim.”
Leave it to you Jim, congrats! On a spoon or bait? I fished the Chu a little more this spring than past seasons and had a blast! Of course, it would have been all the more sweeter had I caught a 12-12 forktail! Nice!
-Ron
You know me Ron LURE ALL THE WAY.” Deadly Dick.” Funny thing was it was dead as a door nail all after noon caught it on a last bonus cast effort.”