Massachusetts Fishing Report – August 11, 2022

Ironically no sooner did the commercial season get the curtain call than striper size seems to have dropped from slabs to slots! Peanut bunker numbers continue to swell which bodes well for “the run” which should begin in earnest by the end of this month. Inshore cod numbers remain impressive with many anglers hoping they will stay put for just a little bit longer!

Massachusetts South Shore/South Coast Fishing Report

When I asked Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters how the haddock fishing has been in Cape Cod Bay, he said that he couldn’t say for sure since it was hard to get a bait past all the cod! While the final decision on GOM/state waters cod hasn’t been made, in all probability it will be one fish per person at 22” with the season running from September 1st through October 8th. Again, that’s not set in stone yet but it is the recommendation from the New England Fisheries Management Council which has a lot of sway. What have been cooperating by Stone Ledge are hake as well as all the mackerel you could ask for. Another hint as to what’s prowling out there is that not every released groundfish is making it back to the bottom as at least one was blasted by Charlie right behind the boat!
 
Pete Belsan of Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate told me that the influx of peanut bunker is increasing and blitzes from the Three Bays to Cohasset are reminding many of the fall run. The appearance of peanuts is often a game changer. Pogies off Plymouth are still a cinch and even mackerel appear to be more numerous but you’ll have to set sail for about 2 miles out with 80’ of water to find the sweet spot. A few squid and black sea bass in Green Harbor make for an interesting addition as does tautog which while not targeted all that often reside along wrecks and rockpiles from Scituate through Cohasset.

If you’ve joined Captain Jason Colby aboard his Little Sister South Coast cod trips recently then you haven’t felt the need to wait until September, you’ve been catching cod now! Jason chums the heck out of Coxes Ledge and has been putting the crew into limits of black sea bass as well. Trips have included slot stripers in Westport River.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Captain Brian Coombs has had a case of the blues, but don’t feel bad for him – this is the good kind! Pinned against the beaches of Broad Sound the Get Tight Sportfishing crew had gator bluefish for multiple days in a row recently! While this is not a daily event, knowing that predators are creatures of habit, Captain Coombs intends on keeping that location on his rotation, fully expecting them to return. Pogies and peanuts are making for an enviable combination in the harbor with “sprays” increasing in frequency. When those surface sprays pop up, out come the Jumpin’ Minnows, the Docs and soft plastics. Bait is fun but there’s nothing better than earning it with an artificial. Incidentally Brian takes his Jones Brothers CC down to Vineyard Sound beginning September 1st for a Fat Albert attack! If you would like in on catching those false albacore you better book fast he only has two open dates left!

Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett told me that breakaway schools of pogies have been pushed inside of the Tobin Bridge out to the Encore Casino and there have been 46-50”stripers prowling around the schools. Blitzes are increasing in regularity as peanut bunker schools swell and running and gunning becoming part of the repertoire of many anglers. Squid are still numerous and there have even been a few keeper black sea bass caught off Sunken Ledge. For tuna, Pete suggests anglers target the NW Corner of Stellwagen where “rec” bluefin have been pushing mackerel.

Captain Dave Panarello told me that he hasn’t live-lined a pogy for the longest time and he’s still catching all kinds of drag-pulling stripers! After the captain snags his bait he rushes off to the wooden jungle of piers from Castle Island through Tobin Bridge, weighs one down and drifts over marked fish and he’s catching plenty of slots. The key is to twitch the bait every now and then; a technique Dave credits to his longtime mate, Carl Vinning of Somerville!

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Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Apparently the march of the peanuts has extended all the way into the North Shore according to Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem. Just follow the blitzes in such spots as Lynn Harbor and Marblehead Harbor and odds are you’ll know where the peanut bunker are. A couple of Tomo’s right-hand men in the shop have also been having their way with bluefish in Lynn Harbor with a few caught on flies! For the larger linesiders stick with finding the adult pogies at least until later in the month as the numbers of peanuts increase and the bass feeding window expands then the bigger fish will be gorging on those baby bunker. While hardly a year for the ages, mackerel numbers have improved relatively and can be found outside of Salem Sound all the way through Magnolia. Regarding mackerel, an angler fishing for shad off Plum Island caught a mackerel on an Ava Jig. If none of that seems to make sense, you can be forgiven! There is at least one angler targeting shad from the ocean front and he’s catching them consistently.

Obviously, if mackerel are being caught from the shore than that’s a good sign about their availability, and according to Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle, mackerel with bass on them are now being caught at the “usual places”. In the past those usual places have consisted of Breaking Rocks, the Speckled Apron and Hampton Shoal Ledge.

Surf folks got a shot in the arm recently as authorities are now issuing permits for walk-on night fishing form parking lots 1 and 7 in the Parker River Wildlife Reservation. Night anglers are doing best with needlefish plugs, darters and of course – eels! By the end of the month, Joppa and other inshore areas should start picking up but meanwhile, tube-and-worm kayakers are doing best in Plum Island Sound. Bluefish are just random enough off Cape Ann to make it worth mentioning! Thirty feet of water has been the sweet spot and the boaters most often catching them have been doing so by trolling the standard issue bluefish slayer – Rapala’s CD18!

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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

If you live for the blitz then thanks to peanut bunker your time is at hand! From the Three Bays to Lynn Harbor, striped bass, and occasionally blues, are belting those baby bunker and it’s only going to get better. Pogy schools off Plymouth and Boston continue to hold good stripers but not surprisingly there are fewer cows and more sots in the mix. For a different sort of “bass”, Green Harbor and Rainsford Island are holding some black sea bass. Cod, which will be a factor in a few weeks, are present in solid numbers by Stone Ledge, the Hull Ledges, the B Buoy and most anywhere you drop a jig off Cape Ann. As for the Plum Island area, shad are uncharacteristically active off the ocean front while for stripers walk-on night-stalkers are catching well from the Parker River Wildlife Reservation.