Massachusetts Fishing Report – October 13, 2022

When Charlie chasers looking for large offshore fish are being pestered by stripers then you know that the end is near. Fortunately, tuna fishing remains top-notch. But for pure action that’ll help ease the pain of striper withdrawal, there is a crab-crunching wrasse along the South Coast that is on the feed!

Massachusetts South Shore/South Coast Fishing Report

As much as we talk of environmental stimuli and camaraderie, we fish because we love to catch fish. That certainly is ratcheted to the nth degree when we catch a lot of fish. Such was my reality on Wednesday when I had the good fortune of fishing for tautog with my friends Captain Jason Colby, OTW’s Andy Nabreski and Dalton Clayton. The weather was textbook perfect, the seas were gentle and the tog bite was on fire with us limiting out by 8:30! Not only that but we threw back keeper females as well as males which were only slightly legal. Yup, when you fish aboard the Little Sister Charters you do so with one eye on the future resource. When tog weren’t crushing our crabs, we were beleaguered by out-of-season big black sea bass and even the occasional trigger fish. Unquestionably that is darn good fishing! Andy, Jason and I jig for our tog, in fact I I haven’t touched a conventional blackfish bait rig in over 10 years! To me it’s all about the challenge and developing the right feel for tautog, especially with a jig. Jason and I are all in on the Tidal Tails Jig’z, with one of the bigger reasons being it’s bean-shape which slices through the water column/current and finds bottom in seconds. I noticed Andy had to uptick to 3 ounces with his banana-shaped jig to hold bottom while I did just fine with a mere 3/4 ounce jig. And then there’s the green/orange coloration that screams – “look at me, I’m a green crab”!

As for the crab part, I use them whole if they are the size of a silver dollar and when bigger I cut them in half. Either way I’ll break off two legs the approximate distance of the gap in the hook. The jig hook is pushed through one leg into the cavity of the crab and out the other. It’s essential to have the point of the hook exposed so that the business end of the hook gains purchase. We also punch a hole in the top of the crab shell with a sinker. Do not pound the crab on the gunwale of the boat or you will surely incur the wrath of the good captain if you’re aboard the Little Sister. Instead hold the crab in your palm as you crack the shell.

Missing hits and coming up with little more than the husk of crab is just part of tog fishing and while most simply tear off the the pieces and put on a fresh crab I have a “secret”. I keep a bottle of BioEdge Crab Wand at the ready and squeeze out a drop or two on the crumpled crab, drop it down and more often than not get a hit! It saves time, crabs and it works for me!

Then of course there is the “touch” required to limit swings-and-misses! In my experience the three species in these parts that necessitate the most learned feel are winter flounder, smelt and most definitely – tautog! Specifics are superfluous if it’s a hog tog of over 10 pounds; those whitechins just inhale everything but for smaller tautog it helps to have a certain skill set. Tautog set upon a crab and crush it to incapacitate the prey and then move in to finish the job. If you employ a reach-for-the-stars hookset on the initial thud you’ll do little more than feed the tog. Wait until the next hit and then raise the rod slowly until you feel weight and only then pull up hard with the rod. Once you get that fish going, keep the pressure on or they will surely seek sanctuary among their lairs which are among wrecks, ledge and rockpile – none of which are kind to leaders!

Some such as myself regard fall tog as the final gift of the season, a kind of cherry on top of the sundae after months of angling. Now is that time along the South Coast side of Buzzards Bay! If you need more incentive Captain Colby is now finding cod moving in among the tautog and if you know anything about this cold water critter as temperatures drop it’s only going to get better!

While the cold reality is that most of the striper stock – especially big bass – have moved on that doesn’t mean that you cannot catch as late as November! On the South Shore I’ve chased schoolies from Hull to the Shifting Lots Preserve in Plymouth and caught on everything from spoons to spooks.

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters told me he’s having to keep on the move to find feeding fish. On one recent trip he found schoolies off Marshfield and the next day that same body of fish was off Plymouth. For a south shore best bet for a bigger bass, estuaries and rivers at night throughout Massbay are the top pick!

Greater Boston Fishing Report

According to Maria from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy anglers searching out wayward pogy schools are still finding the bait and the bass! Tube-and-wormers are still doing well from the Neponset River through Dorchester Bay, Grape Island, Bumpkin Island, World’s End and the Weir River. Mackerel can be found from Martin’s Ledge out through Three-and-One-half Fathom Ledge and anglers trolling them on site are finding migrating slot and bigger bass! While in the late innings, a few blues have even been caught off Deer Island. For haddock the sweet spot is 4 to 5 miles northeast of the B Buoy.

Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett told me that anglers looking for feeds are finding fast moving and random blitzes off area beaches with a particularly noteworthy one occurring off of Revere Beach recently. Johnny “Plankton” Hoffman is sticking with what has worked for him all season long, namely trolling the Santini tube off Spectacle and Long Islands. Two colors of leadcore line has been the trick for Johnny who takes city kids and in many instances underprivileged kids fishing as part of The Fishing Academy in Brighton.

Not all is totally lost however in the hub as evidenced by reports from my friends and fellow captains Dave Panarello and Carl Vinning who aboard the Bite Me II are wracking up double-digit striped bass outings while trolling a tube-and-worm among Greater Boston estuaries. Some of those fish have been 35” specimens at that! With October waxing many are turning to trout with good reviews of rainbows coming form Jamaica Pond, Walden Pond and Horn Pond among others.

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Massachusetts

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that angling anecdotes on the North Shore leave one inescapable conclusion – now is not the time to call it for the striped bass season! He heard of a big blitz off Revere Beach as well as Marblehead Harbor, Beverly Harbor and Manchester Harbor. Those working the Winter Island area, especially with soft plastic stick baits at night, are doing well. There are still peanut bunker around with bass feeding on them by the Jubilee Yacht Club. Baby bonito are hanging in there as well as mackerel in Salem Sound.

John from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester said that big bass can still be found but anglers have to focus on deep water. The fish are in the throes of migrating and diving gannets will often point the way to shoals of sea herring or mackerel. Once the prey is found it’s a good idea to keep one eye on the fish finder and try dropping either a greenback or mack into the midst of marked fish. Sometimes off Halibut Point or Thatcher Island or The Groaner live bait will draw the interest of cod but just as likely a striper on the move! Blitzes are still frequent in. Manchester Harbor, off Magnolia and Gloucester. The tuna bite remains terrific and for those with the proper gear is one of the more consistent fisheries off Jeffrey’s Ledge.

Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newburyport said that big bass fishing – has gone to the birds, gannets that is! Much to the chagrin of surf fishers gannets are diving peanut bunker, mackerel and sea herring about 200 yards offshore and there have been news of big bass working the same forage. It’s getting to the point where anglers working the wash off the Parker River Wildlife Reservation are happy just to catch any old striper, with size now academic. Nighttime serpent slingers off the ocean front, working the sound, the flats or the Essex, Parker and Merrimack Rivers are encountering chilly nights but a sometimes hot bass bite. It’s not about numbers now but maybe that one quality fish which makes it all worthwhile!

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

The question which looms large from now throughout the remainder of the season is “how badly do you want it?”. With much of the striper biomass hitching a ride out of town, a good day for many is just a few schoolies off Ellisville Harbor or Duxbury Beach or Peggotty Beach, Boaters should keep an eye out for gannets bombing schools of bait which may belie migrating bass as well! Estuaries and rivers such the Weir River, Weymouth Back or Neponset tend to be more consistent and will often hold bigger bass from dusk through dawn. On the North Shore peanut bunker fueled blitzes are still the rage with Marblehead Harbor going off as well as Beverly Harbor. Farther north upstream areas such as in the Essex River, Plum Island Sound and the Merrimack River should hold nice bass for most of the remainder of the month with the nod going to nighttime practitioners. Should you be scanning Ipswich Bay in the future and witness the diving gannet show a few hundred yards offshore I hope you have a boat!

Of course for consistency it’s hard to top a trip to Westport right now for tautog. With cod increasingly figuring in the catch, it just could be the Bay State’s best bet.