Massachusetts Fishing Report- May 23, 2024

Some were spoiled by an initial spate of luck during the first striped bass surge and are now suffering from AADD – Angling Attention Deficit Disorder. This is primarily a May malady which affects those who panic when “their” fish move on! There is a remedy for that affliction and it’s an easy one – just chill and wait for the cows to come along!

Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report

The bar for bass bragging rights has moved from 30” to 30-pounders according to Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate. Pogy schools in the Three Bays, drop-back river herring exiting the Town River and North River are a few of the striper magnets. Sea herring and mackerel are easy pickings for those wielding a Sabiki rig within a mile from shore. It’s inevitable that big fish will move in and find that forage soon. Rather than wait some are having success trolling the baitfish among flats or employing a float and live-lining the bait up against ledge. There have been regular blitzes off beaches on the South Shore with Black Rock Beach in Cohasset going off recently. Flounder are cooperating off Priscilla Beach, Scituate Harbor, Peggotty Beach and Gunrock Beach. Haddock remain in Cape Cod Bay and not far from the shore.

While that’s all good I was a little disappointed that there was no news about tautog which will be inshore and spawning over the next few weeks in rivers/estuaries. A word regarding the fate of those white chins – let them breed! Just enjoy the thrill of catching and releasing them. One guy who releases tautog when breeding is Captain Jason Colby who politely steers patrons into considering releasing obviously gravid (egg-laden) female tautog while targeting other species such as flounder and – soon! – black sea bass. Regarding flounder, those Cape Cod Bay blackbacks that the Little Sister crew is targeting are on the feed! Water temperatures are perfectly suited to a larger feeding window now with well-proportioned fish up to 19” coming on board. There has also been occasional bycatch stripers, cod and tautog. It’s last call for catching flounder for the year as Jason intends on pulling his boat after his last trip on 5/27 and splashing it into Westport Harbor for the first trip out on 6/01! As to what he’ll target there, a succinct answer would be – what won’t he?

Greater Boston Fishing Report

“We’re having our way with your favorite fish!”, was the taunt from Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing when we spoke on Wednesday. While the truth is that my favorite fish is whatever I’m fishing for at the moment, the skipper’s reference of winter flounder was not far off the mark. While the brunch was flatfish, the breakfast was all striped bass! A few days ago some of Boston’s bass had moved on causing some angst among anglers but Captain Coombs assured me that it has been blitz city from Sculpin Ledge through the flats of Dorchester Bay! The routine remains the same, look for big bait/bird blitzes and steer clear of those cute little terns and you’ll find less fussy fish and bigger fish! I expect any day now Brian to be among the missing inside and be targeting those migratory monsters hell-bent on herring among the Humps!

Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy told me that she’s been moving snag trebles which is a sure indicator that pogies are in Quincy Bay! Both bass and bunker have been congregating where the Long Island Bridge once stood. The major exchange of water there always seems to have bait and fish. The rivers such as the Weir, Weymouth Back and Neponset are all holding fish from schoolies to slot-plus specimens.

With the opening of the recreational black sea bass season, anglers are beginning to target them in Hull Gut and West Gut. I caught many a black sea bass there while fishing with Captain Colby and our hottest lures were 3-4 ounce Crippled Herrings and Shimano’s Lucanus. Those drifts would also be deadly for stripers.

A peak aboard Captain Paul Diggins 34’ Reel Pursuit Carolina Boat gives no clues that he pursues pogy schools. Snag trebles, bridling rigs and whooshing live-wells are less likely to be found on board compared to umbrella rigs. Paul puts those umbrella rigs to good use as he shadows the pogy schools knowing full well that the bass will be following the prey. HIs favorite color shads on these rigs are white and green which he rotates until he finds what’s working on that day, HIs latest hotspot has been between Spectacle and Thompson Islands.

Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett said that squid are in around the Charlestown area. He’s also been hearing of a solid flounder bite off Deer Island Pier and Lynn Pier. To continue with the easy-access theme, anglers dragging the Santini tube between the Amelia Earhart Dam and out towards the casino are catching stripers feasting on spent fall-back river herring. In anticipation of the first push of big bass into Boson, the shop will be carrying eels again. While most are going bonkers over bass, Masswildlife has been quietly stocking brown trout and brook tour in local ponds such as Horn Pond.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Mackerel and pollock are within casting distance of the shoreline on the North Shore so it’s no surprise that Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that striper fishing is stellar! Try trolling or fishing the baitfish from a float off Preston Beach, Philips Beach, Tinkers Island or Castle Rock. Pogies are around but they are sticking to deeper water; that’l change once predators start pushing them in closer. That’s not preventing anglers from picking up snag trebles and having at them. The tube and worm has been working well in the Danvers River area and flounder are cooperating in Lynn Harbor and off Swampscott.

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TJ from Three Lantern Marine told me that haddock are only a few miles out from Gloucester Harbor and hovering among structure in 150’ of water. A recent 10 flat seaworm order was placed which is a sure indication that flounder are cooperating with inner coves and beaches in Gloucester Harbor fishing best. Some pogies have settled in off Magnolia and Ipswich Bay, however, the pogy purse seiners are in pursuit. Liz from Surfland said that as herring continue to drop down from the dam in Lawrence areas from Joppa Flats out through the mouth of the Merrimack River are holding big bass! The outgoing tide at the stretch between the Captains Fishing Charters dock and the sandbar is still producing a good bite. High tide is the better option for those roaming the beach while Parking Lot 1 at the Parker River Wildlife Reservation is the place for the sand spike set with seaworms the bait of choice.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Herring-holding rivers on the South Shore such as the Town and North Rivers will continue to be high percentage striper spots until early June when herring numbers wane. Pogies in the Three Bays are more than poised to take up the slack, especially with bigger bass soon to invade Massbay. Flounder continue to be a fun alternative to all-things-striper with Nut Island Pier, the Deer Island Pier, Lynn Pier and Fisherman’s Beach Pier all emblematic of how accessible these fish remain. Boston blitzes have been a regular occurrence with the venue shifting to Spectacle Island, Thompson Island and Dorchester Bay. Pogy schools on the North Shore have been encountered by Halfway Rock, off Magnolia and in Ipswich Bay. In the Plum Island area seaward river herring are pulling big upstream Merrimack River stripers towards the mouth of the river. While that’s certainly fun an argument could be made that the folks chilling and soaking seaworms at the refuge are having even more of it!