The cusp around the new moon has been living up to its lunar legacy as big striped bass have been landed by surf, boat and kayak with the one commonality that most were caught at night! Daytime boaters have been doing more than just occupying the spectator role as inshore and offshore pogy schools are holding a variety of beasts.
Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report
South Shore sharpies are reporting a lot of life in deepwater haunts of Cape Cod Bay as the cornucopia of bait has been holding cows as well as more impactful predators. Just inside of state waters whales, tuna, sharks and big striped bass have been joining in on an impressive feeding frenzy with hedged bets that those bass are soon to be coast bound.
Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters told me that several of his counterparts are spotting Charlie-chasing stick boats and spotter planes hovering over bait balls in water from 120-150’ deep. Pushing the prey are whales, bluefin and big bass! The bait is consisting of corralled sea herring, mackerel and pogies. While the captain was chilling in a buddies boat at port in Scituate Harbor he was sorely tempted to toss something appetizing towards the schools of mixed size stripers which are swimming all through the harbor. A mackerel live-lined anywhere near there would not last long.
Pete from Belsan of Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said that he’s also seeing pictures of stripers that he dared to say looked as if they were hovering close to the 50 pound mark. Some of the fish have hit squid bars intended for tuna while others have been targeted-trophies in areas such as Flatt Ledge, Davis Ledge, Minot Ledge and the litany of ledges off Hull all producing! A few bite-off reports could be the handiwork of blues! For a shot at a slot, stick to herring run river mouths such as the Town and North Rivers where linesiders are feeding on fallbacks. Flounder fishing is still good in the South Shore harbors and embayments but with stellar striper news understandably few anglers are bothering with blackbacks.
Hopefully you’ve read the comprehensive article about Buzzards Bay black sea bass by Jimmy Fee – “Catch Bigger Black Sea Bass in Buzzards Bay” that is featured in the current issue of On The Water magazine as well as on-line in the website. While I found it interesting and informative, I was treated on Tuesday to a refresher master class on that very same subject by Captain Jason Colby. In addition to some of the techniques espoused by the skilled skippers referenced in the story, Jason employs a few additional tricks. Contrary to the reluctance to use bait by the other guys, Jason never leaves port without enough clams to fill up the average deck cooler. Exhibit 1 was a recent outing where he chummed/baited his way through 40 pounds of clams. Nothing makes those humpheads hear the dinner bell ring like a good old chum slick! Chumming also allows anglers to get up-current of the nastiest wrecks and rock piles and pull the fish out of a tackle-eating jungle. As for the need to follow the fish out to deep water the Captain commented, “The same spots where I catch blackfish in the fall, I catch black sea bass in summer!” Most of those inshore Westport area waypoints are in less than 50’ of water also.
Being a bit of a traditionalist, rather than just randomly jigging, Jason “squids” while drifting over likely lairs while aboard the Little Sister. For generations, squidding was how anglers went about jigging the bottom for codfish and other groundfish. This deadly method is as effective on gadoids as it is fluke, stripers, bluefish, black sea bass and even small tunas. Squidding works best with a sturdy conventional reel that can handle the rigor of continuous free-spool drops combined with a near instantaneous reel engagement/retrieve.
In the hands of an experienced angler the process can be likened to a marionette under the wiles of a puppeteer. The key is fluidity of motion with no lag once the jig touches the bottom and also at the end of the retrieve which should be about five cranks upward. Squidding works because it triggers a reactionary strike and I have had luck with everything from Crippled Herrings to Shimano’s Lucanus. Anglers too slow to engage the reel will not only fail to interest the fish but risk hanging up on the irregular bottom where black sea bass are usually found. Proof is in what lies in the cooler and on this day we limited out!
In addition to a steady pick of black sea bass, Jason’s also putting patrons into fluke, stripers, blues, scup and there was even a monstrous bonito added to the smorgasbord over the weekend!
Greater Boston Fishing Report
While the fleet is clustered around the ubiquitous pogy schools, Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing is steering clear of the chaos yet still putting charters on cows! While not adverse to baiting with bunker, Brian is just as often trolling/livelining mackerel around marked fish in deep water between the Boston Humps and the B Buoy. Some of these fish he’s putting patrons on are 48”, with the right stuff! That “stuff” is fish that are stoutly built, with broad tails and big fins that look as if they are well on their way towards 50 pound status! Big spooks are working as are bunker/flutter spoons. A tip the skipper would like to pass along to the weekend folks is to simply look for the purple waves of pogies indicating that the school you’re near is packed tight and under duress! My timing was good when talking to Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy as one of the resident kayak sharpies – Irish Tyler – happened to be in the shop and he’s one to always pass along a hot tip. He’s putting respectable stripers onto his boat while deploying pogies and eels in the Black Creek section of Wollaston Beach! The good times in Quincy Bay are hardly limited to there as another accomplished kayak angler – and friend of the shop – Brian – has been finding pogies and big bass in the shadows of the Fore River Bridge. Just do your part and resist the temptation to snag-and-drop, instead learn how to bridle those bunker – it’s legal, effective and emblematic of an angler who cares about the future of striped bass.
Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett told me that stripers up to 47” have been shadowing schools of pogies throughout the harbor. Larry Laforce flutter spoons have been deadly while dropped through the bait and into the line of fire of the bass. As to the “where”, his suggestion is the current side of the harbor islands, especially by structure such as Lions Rock off Spectacle Island or the Rip off Deer Island. For those who view the world as slightly flat, the improved flounder season continues with some deeper water spots starting to produce as well as inshore/from shore staples. Consider Finn Ledge, Green Island, the Brewsters, Point Allerton and Ultonia Ledge.
Captain Paul Diggin’s of Reel Pursuit Charters is targeting roving pogy schools – especially areas that they’ve just exited – with Mojo Rigs and Umbrella Rigs. While he pays rapt attention to the whereabouts of those pogies, he’s less inclined to snag any as he is putting his rigs near the schools. Two specifics that Paul mentioned were by the Tobin Bridge and Tug Boat Pier.
Greater Boston nocturnal ninjas of the surf such as Stevie DeVincent and Johnny Cutulle are plugging area beaches and finding one or two big bass per outing. The big bass pursuit in the wash is never about numbers but rather the unrivaled adrenaline rush when a cow crushes your lure.
Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
The North Shore is hardly immune to pogy pandemonium according to Tomo’s Tackle in Salem! Pogy schools off Preston Beach, Phillips Beach and Tinker’s Island have been holding big bass and he’s even starting to hear of fish up to 48”! Mackerel have been found as close as Halfway Rock but you had better have a backup plan as schools are not dependable. Should you search from Salem Harbor out into the sound you should find surface feeds which have been a pattern for the better part of two weeks. Tomo has been pounding marked fish under pogy schools with Ben Parker flutter spoons and doing very well. Haddock have been as close as 11 miles from shore with the Dumping Grounds getting special mention.
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TJ from Three Lantern Marine told me that some have been catching mackerel right off the Dogbar Breakwater and live-lining them for stripers with success. Surface feeds have been common in Manchester Harbor as well as Gloucester Harbor. Macks can be found in the harbor but for consistency drop your sabiki rig from the Groaner on outwards. Pogies are present off Magnolia with some anglers trolling them off the backshore and catching good bass. For flounder one of the best bets has been Folly Cove in Rockport. Lobsterman are increasingly reporting seeing busting bluefin as they attend to their pots.
The reports from Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newburyport are impressive! The phenomenon of the downstream movement of herring/shad/big bass is in full swing in the Merrimack River and anglers who have been taking advantage of the new moon have had banner nights. Some outings have produced consistent cows up to 48” long among the flats with eels, metal lips and soft stick baits working well. There is also the greatly anticipated outgoing tide at the mouth of the Merrimack River to look forward to. Still others are perfectly content with wading the false dawn ocean front and catching a sunrise as well as a few bass. Many are also enjoying themselves while bait fishing at Parking Lot 1 at the refuge. While opinions vary as to which works better – clams or seaworms – one thing that is beyond debate is that they are having fun! Pogies have been spotted in Ipswich Bay.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
It’s rare that reality lives up to hype, but for many that has been the case as big bass throughout the Bay State continue to be caught around the New Moon. In Cape Cod Bay there are signs that a herd of cows is ready to move in so it may get better! Meanwhile you should find no shortage of slot and bigger bass in the Three Bays, Green Harbor, Sciutate Harbor and Cohasset Harbor. The buffet of species in Buzzards Bay is dizzying with black sea bass the primary target but the supporting cast of scup, fluke, stripers, blues and even bonito nothing to ignore. Boston’s bunker bounty and big bass are drawing a lot of attention and in that lies the rub: does one join the fleet or seek big bass elsewhere? Some sharpies such as Captain Coombs are sticking to deep water and eschewing the pogy chaos and still catching cows. On the North Shore Salem has been the sight of surface feeds all the way out to the sound. Cape Ann has had cows crashing bait off the back shore as well as Rockport. In the Plum Island area history is repeating itself as big bass ambush fall back herring in downstream sections of the Merrimack River.