From Flounder, to topwater stripers, to the first few Tuna being caught offshore, options abound for Massachusetts anglers this week! Mackerel have been replaced by pogies as the primary baitfish in inshore waters north of Cape Cod, while bottom fishing for scup and black sea bass is lights out south of the cape. While some species have begin to transition to their summertime hideaways, strong tides brought on by last weeks’ new moon have kept fishermen on their toes throughout the past week in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report
On the South Coast, Alexander at FishLinked Charters in Wareham said that, overall, fish are shifting into typical summer patterns in Buzzards Bay. stripers are still around, with big fish remaining present in the bay even with warming water temperatures. However, the highlight of Alexander’s report was the strong black sea bass bite in Buzzards. He stated that he has seen an abundance of these tasty fish, and has had to work through a plethora of short fish to find keeper-sized knotheads above the 16 ½ inch legal size, with some fish reaching and exceeding the 20-inch mark.
This excellent bottom fishing report in warmer waters south of Cape Cod was corroborated by Captain Rich Antonio of Black Rose Charters, who added that scup are an additional target for their clients. Rich and his clients have been drifting jigs tipped with clams and squid to catch scup and black sea bass since the season’s opener. Presumably, scented soft baits such as Berkley Gulp® would work well for fishermen less-inclined to exclusively use frozen bait on their bottom fishing excursions.
Captain Rich and other anglers have also seen some epic striper surface feeds, reported by anglers all the way from Monument beach around the Cape eastward to Monomoy. Topwater plugs including the ubiquitous Drifter Tackle Doc have been the weapons of choice for fishermen casting at these surface feeds of not-so-picky stripers. Rich implored anglers to consider crushing their barbs and/or switching to inline singles on these topwater plugs that come out of the package with two sticky sharp treble hooks. Crushing barbs and switching to singles not only aids in the release of under and over-slot stripers, it also lessens the chance of an emergency room visit if an unlucky angler happens to get a treble embedded in their hand while handling an angry, hooked bass.
Rich was the first of many captains this week who indicated that Tuna have begun to arrive offshore; he will begin taking trips to target bluefin next week.
Greater Boston Fishing Report
Throughout Boston Harbor, Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing has seen excellent morning topwater action. Pogies have replaced mackerel as the primary baitfish being hunted by slot-sized bass, all the way up to cow-sized 48-inch fish. These slot sized and larger bass have been caught on walk-the-dog topwaters and Al Gags Whip-It Fish soft baits.
The angling crew at Monahans Marine in Weymouth has also reported the first sightings of bluefin tuna on Stellwagon bank. Once again, pogies are the primary baitfish in the Greater Boston area, with striper anglers from Boston Harbor all the way down into Plymouth coming into their shop to purchase flutter spoons, and long-billed Rapala X-Rap Magnum® trolling lures in pogy-colored sizes that dive to 30 and 40-feet.
When bass blizing on pogies are showing on the surface, throwing walk-the-dog topwaters and livelining pogies are always extremely effective tactics. When morning blitzes have died off, and the fish are no longer showing on the surface, knowing how to use one’s electronics to find them is the key to success. Trolling X-Rap Magnums® or vertically fishing flutter spoons to bass marked on electronics are proven techniques that will put fish in the boat even when no active surface feeds are taking place.
Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
“When it’s good, it’s great!” is the mantra found true by North Shore anglers this week, shared by Liz at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island. She stated that shore-bound anglers were not doing as well as boat-based anglers, although both were able to find solid action. When anglers found feeding fish, Liz said that the action was lights-out. Boat fishermen have found fish trolling the tube & worm on the Joppa flats just inside the Merrimack river. Liz speculated that a summertime staple: live eels, would soon be the bait of choice for kayak, surf, and boat anglers alike. The flounder bite in the Merrimack river area has also been hot, with Liz mentioning that the fishermen and the flatfish have shown a preference for sunny days over cloudy days.
Currently, Liz said that local surfcasters and kayakers were catching bass at first light on slender-bodied soft baits such as Gravity Tackle Eels, and perhaps the most well-loved of all surfcasting soft plastics: the Lunker City Sluggo®. Rigged weightless, on a light jighead, or on a weighted twistlock hook, eel-shaped soft baits are an optimal option for anglers targeting bass in inshore waters. They are a versatile bait that can be crawled at a painfully slow pace, or cranked quickly through current to imitate an eel or any sort of slim bait profile. While commonly thought of as eel-only imitators, the slender, bottom-view profile of a bunker is remarkably similar to the shape of the aforementioned soft plastics.
Liz at Surfland, along with most other shop owners/employees and charter captains spoken to this week, reflected on the recent arrival of tuna in Massachusetts waters. She speculated that the mackerel had been pushed out of inshore waters by the forked-tailed Thunnini species, hopefully being replaced by lively bunker schools. This would help explain observations on the recent absence of Mackerel up and down the Massachusetts coastline.
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TJ at Three Lantern Marine and Fishing also indicated the arrival of tuna, and seconded Liz’s report that eels and soft plastics are currently productive for surf and boat anglers. He mentioned the rocky shoreline just south of Gloucester as a hotspot for anglers seeking blitzing fish and bait. With ocean temperatures on the North Shore at least a few degrees cooler than southern waters, it is likely that the bass in this area have yet to migrate to their deeper, summer haunts.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
With bass blitzing on bunker, black sea bass and scup slurping squid-tipped jigs, and the arrival of tuna offshore, Massachusetts saltwater fishing is showing no signs of slowing down as the summertime season approaches. When targeting striped bass, all anglers should step into the surf armed with either slender soft plastics or a mesh bag of live eels. Similarly, no boat should leave the marina without an assortment of bunker-imitating lures and baits onboard.
If breaking away from the strong inshore bite is a possibility, anglers with adequately equipped boats should be considering a tuna mission. While it may not be as sure a bet as the strong bite near shore, the temptation of tuna action should be enough for many to consider taking a trip offshore.
I encourage everyone that catches Black Sea bass to open their stomachs and check for soft plastics. 150 boats or better and over 75 percent are using soft plastics that say they are CANCER causing on the package. The sea bass are unable to digest and “shit” out the big soft plastics and they rot in their stomach leeching the contents they were made of into the blood and flesh of the fish.
Good to know KO, you might want to direct that post to the buzzard’s bay crowd too as there is a larger population of black sea bass in that area friend. Thanks for sharing though. Tight lines.
Done..good call
The early bird gets the cow! The Fly guys still getting it done. Bird piles getting bigger with more bait showing up as we start falling into our summer pattern(s). Tight lines.