Massachusetts Fishing Report – June 17, 2021

While admiring some of the recent striper shots and even indulging in a little bit of it myself, I almost felt like humming, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”! It’s one thing to whip monsters at sundown, but some of the biggest bass I know of have been caught mid-morning! Imagine being able to actually catch winks and still catch cows! Mid-June really is among the most wonderful times of the year!

Massachusetts South Shore/South Coast Fishing Report

Finally for those who live to fish Race Point there is a cause for celebration! After striper numbers plummeted over the past few years Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters shot me out images of scads of marks of stripers gorging on sand eels and some of the fish were big. In the end it all comes down to bait and the bumper crop of forage is attracting more life. Further proof of size came my way in the form of a text with pictures from Captain Mark Petitt of Fire Escape Charters who recently caught some real big girls there! While a live mackerel will not last long, deep diving trolling plugs and vertical jigging over marked fish is also deadly.

Pete Belsan of Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said that big bass are coming by two ways – offshore and the rivers. Not surprisingly Minot Ledge through the Hull Ledges remain hot for trolling mackerel while the South River and North Rivers are producing big fish for the shore and kayak crew. Pete pointed out the “holes” in the South River as among the best. One such hole is at the first bend in the river and another is behind Rexhame Beach.

Captain Rich Antonio of Black Rose Charters is itching to get back into the doormat fluke game by Nantucket Shoals but he’s having a hard time passing on the super scup and black sea bass in Buzzards Bay. A hint as to how much life is present is in the mile long productive drifts he and his crew are able to pull off! One to two ounce Spro Jigs/Gulp Mullets are doing the job.

For a peak into Nomans Land, Captain Bruce Calvin of Strike II Charters is focusing on fluke in 50-80’ of water. The skipper targets them with B2 squids/squid strips and 8 ounces of lead. Wind has kept him from drifting his preferred lanes but that hasn’t stopped the black sea bass from biting.

Ordinarily Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing goes about his business in Buzzards Bay and Boston but I have a hunch that some of the big bass I’ve seen pictures of have been caught closer to Plymouth! He’s using mackerel for bait, downsizing the leaders to as light as 25 pound test, and free-spooling his offering way back beyond the wash.

There was a short-lived but intense push of big bass in the canal this week. They were chasing pogies along the banks and up into the rocks. It’s increasingly looking as if those big canal cows, which recently caused quite the stir, have settled into the Three Bays”!

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Captain Brian Coombs has been loading up on mackerel by Flipp Rock and the 2 Can off Nahant and bee-lining it to as far out as the B Buoy looking for deepwater surface action. If offshore isn’t doing it, he’s been deploying his baits in Dorchester Bay as well as Broad Sound. You might say he’s getting around and even better, he’s been finding a mid-morning bite. There really is nothing like mid-June! Regardless of a day bite, the kayak crew continues to put in their time after dark and every once in a while they are rewarded with a striper sleigh ride!

For them the flooding tide has been best with the mouths of rivers among the most reliable. Captain Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett told me that Johnny Hoffman has been dragging the Santini tube around the Northeast section of Long Island and catching stripers up to 44” long. Deep water ledge, mackerel-trolling captains such as Jimmy Brennan have been catching similar sized fish. Tog continue to be wrenched out of the piling jungle along the inner harbor and some of the tog are trophies. On a recent flounder trip, Pete pulled some nice flatties out of Perry and Portuguese coves off Peddock Island. He’s still hearing of porgies from Nut Island as well.

While Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy didn’t have much to say about porgies, she did weigh in on “pogies” getting pummeled by bass off Nut Island on Wednesday. She also said that Wollaston Beach is holding pogies and some surf and kayak anglers are doing well at night there. A few black sea bass are adding to the variety off Rainsford Island, Hull Gut and West Gut.

Captain Sam from Boston Saltwater told me of a charter customer, who while aboard was competing in a local striper derby, caught a contender! However, the bite was so good he passed on the derby, chartered the boat for the rest of the day and kept on fishing! Obtaining mackerel for the crew has been better at the harbor inner ledges such as Finn Ledge and the 2 Can, as opposed to deeper water. For a shot at a biggie, Sam suggests trolling the macks among Georges Island, the backside of Long Island and the outer edge of Spectacle Island.

Captain Paul Diggins of Reel Pursuit Charters has been targeting surface feeds which he’s finding from Castle Island out past Long Island and out to Peddock Island. Mackerel-colored X-Raps are working but he’s expecting to be employing live mackerel soon by Egg Rock, a spot he has intimate knowledge of.

Captain Colby of Little Sister Charters is seeing flounder numbers drying up now that water temperatures are rising and is now readying his boat for Buzzards Bay and the buffet of species he will be targeting there. First up will be fluke and black sea bass. Now is a good time to book him for those trips especially if fluke are high on your list. Each year Jason finds a niche of nice fluke that go unbeknownst to others but it is not an infinite resource. Ordinarily the fishing will be fantastic for a few weeks and then bottom out. The same cannot be said for black sea bass where species availability will usually outlast the season! Tautog will then be the target once the black sea bass season is closed.

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Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Sam from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that there is a nice nighttime North Shore striper bite at the mouths of rivers. Small boaters, surf fishers and kayakers are all getting in on the fun. He mentioned Swampscott, Marblehead, Salem and Beverly as places worth noting. The bite off Tinkers, Bakers, Misery and Halfway Rock is beginning to shape up like last season at this time. Macks are the bait of choice but there are pods of pogies around with big fish on them. Mackerel sizes are mixed now with a class of bite-sized tinkers in residence. Flounder fishing has been best in harbor sections at eel grass edges as the fish prey on grass shrimp.

Matt from Three Lantern Marine said that an angler working a plug in the Little River by the Nichols Candy shop caught a “flounder”! While anything is possible, it most likely was a fluke. Fluke are not unheard of here but mid-June is on the early side and just may be a harbinger of good numbers to come. Manchester and Gloucester Harbor have held surface feeds with pogy schools in Ipswich Bay holding bigger stripers. Prior to the onset of the season, a few commercial guys have been scouting the backshore of Gloucester with pogies and reportedly were liking their prospects!

This weeks Plum Island report comes courtesy of Captain Dave Panarello who after making an emergency rod tip repair visit to Surfland Bait and Tackle took in an outgoing tide outing by the Captains Fishing Charters docks and caught a dozen nice stripers in no time! Martha then added that anglers finding pogies in Ipswich Bay or macks by the Speckled Apron or Hampton Shoals Ledge are catching well with that bait. She suggested the Merrimack River bridges through Joppa Flats and out to the mouth of the Merrimack as all good bets. Sandy Point through Plum Island Sound has been good for the eels -after-dark crowd. A few are finding flounder at the mouth of the Merrimack and off Cranes Beach.

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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

With most swept up in striped bass madness, I almost neglected to mention that the groundfishing remains impressive! With the scads of sand eels in CCB, inshore spots not far form port or a launch are still holding haddock. The same goes for Greater Boston out beyond the B Buoy and farther north to Tillies and Jeffrey’s. On the South Shore, you could catch a few cooler mates on the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen and then cruise into the Race and try the resurgent population of Race Point stripers or flip-the-script and hit the bass first! If you can find pogies among the Three Bays than you just might find some big bass with them. The North and South Rivers have some of the better South Shore, inshore striped bass. Scup continue to be a surprise visitor to the south side of Boston Harbor at Nut Island. With a few black sea bass joining in the mix, you may have to check your GPS! Inshore ledges have mackerel with the islands delivering better-than-average striped bass. North Shore river mouths, especially at night have been home to surf fishers, kayakers and those who may be short on boat size but are still long on linesiders.