The few who are still in the game are finding few bugs, nary another angler, and gluttonous gamesters! The word from those anglers is that they almost cannot believe their good fortune as previously pressured places seem like their own personal playgrounds. Other fall favorites to consider are smelt, tautog, and haddock. It’s no escaping that it’s late October and anglers are appreciating most any striped bass or bluefish on the line!
South Shore and South Coast
Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish continues to treat charters to chasing and catching schoolie to slot stripers. As to where the bite is best, it seems to change tide to tide as typical of the waning moments of the fall run. Peanut bunker are hanging in there all the way into the North Shore and the last waves of blues and bass are cruising from school to school. The bait does occasionally throw a good curveball – the Sox could take a few lessons – and the source of the surface feeds will be baby bonito or mackerel! To shake things up the captain is going to be shifting gears for tautog in Buzzards Bay soon. Considering that Mr. Rowell launches out of Scituate he may want to reconsider.
Pete from Belsan’s Bait and Tackle in Scituate had an interesting excuse to not be in his shop the other day when I called. Ordinarily, at this time of the year, the shop’s scale is retired for the season since weight-worthy specimens are usually not happening. However, this time thanks to a double-digit white-chin tautog, he had to head home to grab the scale! The rocks off the South Shore off Minot and other craggy sections inshore seem to be holding more tautog this year. And it doesn’t stop there as one of Boston’s fixture fisherman – Johnny Hoffman – has also found some beastly blackfish in the harbor, but more on that later! In what’s considered their “normal” range – Buzzards Bay – Captain Jason Colby continues to put charters into limits of impressive tautog. The fishing is excellent and it’s anyone’s guess how good it’ll get once water temperatures drop below the pivotal 60-degree mark! On an aside, a slight smelt bite has been setting up off lit docks in Scituate Harbor. This could get interesting!
Greater Boston
Big blues, slot stripers, and plenty of pogies and peanut bunker – the harbor is one hot place to fish right now! Surfcasters have been taking advantage of gentle seas, loads of stripers, and a lack of bugs and other fishermen! The full moon seems to have lit a fuse off area beaches from Hull through Revere with bass pushing peanuts practically under the feet of the few shore casters still in the game! One sharpie I know of has been leaning heavily on Magic Swimmers and he’s been crushing them with it. Another option to consider is the 5/8th ounce black, bronze or orange/gold Yo-Zuri Mag Darter; when peanuts are being pummeled in the shallows this thing is lethal.
Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing has been prowling around pogy schools in the harbor and not only picking up good stripers but giant gators! His buddy, Captain Anthony Forte nailed a monster 22-pound blue recently. The beat goes on, find the pogies and you will find the bass and blues. With bluefish that size in residence it goes without saying that steel leaders are a must!
Pete Santini told me the black Santini tube and worm has been crushing cows between the Encore Casino out beyond the Shrafft’s Office Complex. While stripers in October are expected, what’s not ordinarily is terrific tautog fishing. Johnny Hoffman who heads the Fishing Academy has found a mess of big tautog which would raise eyebrows in Buzzards Bay let alone Boston! While the normally gregarious Hoffman is not one to have a tight lip on anything, he has been taciturn as to where those fish are. A good place to start is to pitch a seaworm or green crab under the jungle of pilings which dot the inner harbor.
Lisa from Fore River Bait and Tackle has been moving Sabiki Rigs and seaworms at a good clip as anglers are finding smelt off piers in Hull, Hingham and the Town River. There have even been a few winter flounder taken off the Nut Island Pier!
North Shore
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle gave Sam the day off when I called on Wednesday but it looks as if the stripers have not taken any time off! In the morning Lynn Harbor has looked like a blizzard of bass, birds, and bait with the causeway side the most productive! King’s Beach through Red Rock has also been red hot!
My buddy Dave Flaherty has been having his way on successive mornings with schoolie through slot stripers with prime time being between false dawn through first light. Sleep in at your own peril because while the bite has been furious, the window is short! The fish are pushing peanuts right onto the shoreline, Dave’s been finding that the 4 inch “slime” Al Gag’s Whip-it-Fish has been the killer lure; bump up the size and you’ll be sorry! The harbors from Marblehead through Cape Ann are still holding peanut bunker, bass as well as the occasional bluefish! Squid are also a factor with some coming out of Marblehead Harbor, Beverly Harbor and Gloucester Harbor. A light source at night is a requisite for loading up on those Loligos!
TJ from Three Lantern Marine also commented on the calamari catch, in fact he said that they are being caught right behind the shop! Surface feeds have been common In Manchester Harbor, Gloucester Harbor and peanuts have been trapped among the craggy coves off Gloucester and Rockport. Not all protagonists in those feeds are bass and blues as big mackerel have moved in on the peanut bunker as well. Those making the trip to Jeffrey’s Ledge and Tillies are reporting a nice haddock haul.
Martha from Surfland Bait And Tackle said that a regular in the shop is still catching blues in the Plum Island stretch on most days! Stripers still are pushing peanuts in close with Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil plugs, the smaller Cotton Cordell Pencil and Rebel Jumpin’ Minnows among the favored topwaters. Anglers from New Hampshire and Maine continue to visit Surfland to gear up for great fishing over the border which includes plenty of stripers and few other anglers! Mackerel have moved in close and are one of the tickets to tempting a late-inning cow! I had the good fortune to give a presentation the other night to my friends at Plum Island Surfcasters with one of the sharpies telling of a good Salisbury Beach bite with large slots joining in on the feed!
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
With boaters pulling their rides at a record rate and many turning to sweetwater pursuits those who are still at it are calling the conditions – fantastic! Oh, and the fact that blues and bass are still cooperating doesn’t hurt either! There are even a few wild cards with Scituate/Hull smelt, South Shore tog and North Shore squid all a consideration. A week from now, all this stuff may be gone, so what are you doing with your weekend?
Ron, Thanks for the heads up about what has been hot as far as offerings go. Match the forage size is important. There is still plenty to catch in the salt, at least this week. The water temps are dropping but are still agreeable.I see very few boats out there but the bite is still on. Thanks
Friday off Plum Island: caught a mess of little Atlantic Bonito while trolling for stripers.
Still a few linesiders around, but heading to buzzon bay once the rain lets up. Tau-Tau time! Tight lines.