Massachusetts Fishing Report – May 4, 2023

Here’s to the class of – 2015? Anglers first fish of the season is not “supposed” be a slot striper, especially in early May but that has been the reality for many! The young of the year class born in the Chesapeake Bay that year was a healthy one and it is making its presence known.

Massachusetts South Shore/South Coast Fishing Report

As much as I anticipated mixing it up with buddies for those first fresh stripers of the year, I was very curious how Captain Jason Colby would fare in his hunt for flounder in Cape Cod Bay. While the Little Sister skipper knows a thing or two about flounder, this was a whole new swath of ocean and challenges so I figured it would take a few days for him to figure it out. The blizzard of torturous messages I got beginning a scant 15 minutes after departure time said it all – he found them and earlier than expected. The catching was so good that the crew set a self-imposed minimum length of 14” (12” is legal), limited the boat out at 48 fish and was back at the dock at 11! The top flounder was also close to 18”; had the report been from ten years ago I would have sworn it was Quincy Bay. An awful lot of people have a warm spot in their heart for winter flounder and it looks as if Sesuit is the sweet spot for the last remaining stock of blackbacks.

Meanwhile, the South Shore striper train rolls on according to Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate. Schoolies through slots continue to fill into many areas with solid reports coming in from the Three Bays, Green Harbor, the North River spit, Cohasset Harbor and Hull. As for what’s working, the new GT paddletails are drawing rave reviews and of course old standbys such as Al Gag’s Whip-it-Fish and Rebel Jumpin Minnows are catching well. There are also reports of squid in close as well as sea herring/mackerel farther out. It’s still early and with so few boats out there I have no reports of bigger bass moving through historical deep water migration routes such as Minot Ledge but they are probably there. And with news of their favored forage already in play, why wouldn’t they be?

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Early May can be thrilling and disappointing all at the same time. Striped bass are moving through very quickly and until resident fish become a fixture it can be a “here today, gone tomorrow” scene. The spot which worked for you yesterday may seem barren tomorrow, at least until the next wave of fresh fish moves through. There are a lot of slots in the initial surge and they are willing to hit a topwater! On my first trip on Tuesday at a Greater Boston estuary I started out with a 1 ounce chicken scratch Al Gag’s Whip-it-Fish and as much as I was hankering to snap on a topwater the cooking current made a deep presentation the only way to go. I hooked a good fish almost immediately and due to a reel malfunction it came undone. Still the stage was set for a spook as soon as the flow lessened a bit. Out came a bronze Yo-Zuri Hydro Pencil and in short succession my first three fresh fish were all slots – cool stuff for the first fish of early May.

Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing confirmed the nomadic behavior of the current crop of stripers as the fish he marked a few days ago in Winthrop moved on. However, he had a wildcard and he had river herring to thank for that. Sure enough, bass were stacked up close to the Charles River locks, doubtless feasting on alewife appetizers. The same scene is taking place wherever there are harbor herring runs. Spots within spots to target in those areas are shadow lines, structure walls and shoreline points. Anything that constricts the movements of those herring will bunch up those striped ambush artists.

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According to Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett in Everett the “slot play” is hot by the Encore casino! Anglers are catching them with honey mustard Santini tubes as well as paddletail baits. He’s also hearing of a few flounder at the Deer Island Flats, Governor’s Flats and Lynn Harbor. Consider Sculpin Ledge, Finn Ledge and Bob’s Bass Triangle as well. It’s only natural to think of Quincy Bay when the talk turns to flounder and as if on cue Lisa from Fore River weighed in that just outside of the Quincy Yacht Club, Nut Island, Hangman Island and the coves of Peddock Island flounder have been caught. As for stripers, recent reports have put them at the Weir River, Hingham Harbor, the Fore River, Weymouth Back River and the Black Creek/Wollaston Beach effluence. Hull Gut has been hot also with “squidding” or vertical jigging an effective method while drifting through an outgoing tide.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem is back in the boss’s chair after playing hooky at the Indian Ocean for dogtooth tuna, Giant Trevally and grouper. Among highlights for the sojourn were a grouper blasting a topwater in 200’ of water and big dog dogtooths continuously chafing him off on ledge well below the surface. How different those tuna behave from “our” tuna in that their modus operandi when hooked is rather than run they dive towards the bottom in an attempt to sheer off the line? On the north shore, stripers up to slot size have made it all the way up to Rockport! I even heard from Sam Stavis, who was Tomo’s right hand man for years, who has been having his way with top water stripers up to 36”! His go-to lure has been the Yo-Zuri 3D Topknock. Anglers are also getting an unusually high volume of squid for so early as well as mackerel with the Beverly Pier producing both.

Regarding “both”, TJ from Three Lantern Marine told me that mackerel and stripers can now be found in Goucester Harbor! His reports are echoing what most everyone else is saying, namely that tackle-testing bass have made an early appearance. Squid are also a factor off lit piers at night in the harbor. As for groundfish, haddock reports could be better while redfish and pollock are putting on a show at Jeffrey’s Ledge.

Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newburyport said that while she’s fairly certain that there are bass off the beach, the incessant east blow has kept all but the most hardcore away from the rollers/wash. The few who are at it tend to be clandestine casters who don’t tell a soul! More reliable is the Merrimack River from the mouth through the Lawrence Dam. For the most reliable action, the best bet remains the mouth of the river on the last stages of the outgoing tide. Finally the Rocks Village section of West Newbury has become superb for shad. It’s shaping up as a strong year for river herring in the Parker River with reports of a more prolific run than recent years. That could pay off in the fall as the young begin tumbling into Plum Island Sound and will hold stripers beyond when they normally would migrate. Those same fry could resuscitate the vestige white perch run and just maybe result in a semblance of a sea run brown trout fishery. I know it’s wishful thinking but it sure would be nice.

Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

Eddie of B&A Bait and Tackle Co. in West Boylston predictably said that there is a species shift in the Chu right now with the catch balance pivoting from lakers to smallies. The change is equal parts warming water as well as smelt moving out a bit from the shoreline. Oddly there has been no signs of white perch which by now should be cruising into the Thomas Basin to spawn. Many are going all in to the Stillwater which has been stocked with brook trout and rainbow trout.

Rod from Flagg’s Fly and Tackle in Orange is reporting that the laker action off Gate 31 remains really good as anglers rack up double-digit trips of fish up running between 2 to 6 pounds! Salmon so far appear to be on the gaunt side, possibly and ode to a dip in smelt numbers. Smallies are fairing much better than the landlockeds as those versatile feeders are taking advantage of more active crayfish. Nearly every access point in Quabbin is holding pre-spawn Sallys right now. Rod did tout another option when we spoke, namely the burgeoning channel catfish biomass in the Connecticut River. In fact so many are interested in this fishery that the shop is now carrying “stink baits” for these fish which have malodorous leanings. The French Bridge section of the river is among the better bets.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Remember the days when the first striper wave consisted solely of micros? While it was still fun just to connect with out striped crush, it’s eminently more so when that first fish is 30” and takes down a topwater with a “POP”! While the fast-moving schools are likely to strike anywhere at anytime give yourself an edge by targeting marshes, estuaries and especially rivers which support healthy herring runs. On the South Shore consider Ellisville Harbor, the Eel River or Plymouth’s Town River. Green Harbor should get the green light this time of the year as is the South and North Rivers. The Harbor is hottest by the herring runs at the Weymouth Back, Charles and Mystic Rivers. Flounder are beginning to cooperate at the usual harbor haunts such as Hangman Island, Peddock Island, Deer Island Flats and Lynn Harbor. On the North Shore, bass on the rocks have been a reality for Cape Ann crag crawlers with reports coming in of fish up to 36”! Gloucester Harbor is a go for mackerel, stripers and even squid. If you’re looking to stretch the ponies on your ride that you just dumped in than a red hot redfish and pollock bite awaits on Southern Jeffrey’s Ledge!