Massachusetts Fishing Report – August 22, 2024

For the first time all season, bluefish are being successfully targeted rather than just a side bar to striped bass. The pogy parade continues unabated to where it almost seems like an inexhaustible resource. The addition of peanut bunker to the mix assures that bait should not be a problem for the foreseeable future.

Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report

Pete Belsan of Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate told me that bass and blues have been spraying peanut bunker onto the surface of Three Bays. Anglers who patronize the shop from Kingston and Duxbury are all saying that it’s feeling like fall and that observation has less to do with cool mornings and dew on the lawn and more to do with blitzes which are increasingly becoming common. Blues have been cooperating in the Egypt Beach and Pegotty Beach area with squid attracting stripers at the Spit. The smattering of rocks/ledge between Minot and Cohasset are holding consistently good striped bass fishing with anglers heaving chunks among the structure-finding fish. The shoreline that parallels Atlantic Avenue in Cohasset has been good for tube-and-wormers. Haddock fishing has been fortuitous between Middlebank and the eastern edge of Stellwagen with cod congregating among inshore humps and lumps.
 
Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters out of Scituate said that sharks have been taking a liking to his boat! The other day he had a monster blue shark that kept bumping his engines, worrying the captain that it might take a chomp out of them. While floating a mackerel for Charlie, a thresher shark kept thumping the balloons with its massive tail. There’s good reason to deal with the occasional toothy nuisance however as “jumpers” that look to be grander giants have been observed chasing halfbeaks. Not all has been sideshows as haddock continue to cooperate halfway between port in Scituate Harbor and Stellwagen Bank. It’s tempting for the captain to just stay in port with all the striper-on-peanut bunker action in the harbor. While most would think that the five Bs – bass, blues, bonito, black sea bass, and blackfish – would be enough to satisfy, Captain Jason Colby keeps trying to give his crew a little more. Soon that will include the cornucopia of critters which call Coxes Ledge home – especially cod! In addition to the very real prospects of finding cod, it’s also nice to know that as of September 1st in the Southern New England area anglers will be able to keep up to 5 cod at a minimum of 23”. Get your arsenal of jigs ready!

Greater Boston Fishing Report

For the first time this season, Boston anglers can count on blues! Captain Brain Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing has been finding both bass and blues among pogy schools inside and outside of the harbor. With the presence of blues now the bite can be a bit bipolar: when it’s on it’s furious but when sated, with chopped-up pogies, the bass can be finicky. In spite of a seemingly infinite ribbon of bait expect the schools of bass and blues to be roaming from bait ball to bait ball with water temperature often dictating where the feed will be. The closer temperatures get to the idyllic 65-degree range the greater the chance of anglers finding action. If somehow you’re jaded from the superb striper season we’re having then Captain Coombs is offering an alternative – fantastic false albacore fishing! The bite in Buzzards Bay, Vineyard Sound, and anywhere else he suspects these tiny tuna are, has been outstanding. And those tuna have not been so tiny with 12-15 pound fish par for the course.

Captain Paul Diggins of Reel Pursuit Charters has been finding action everywhere from the inner harbor Coast Guard Station out to the NC Buoy! He’s even been seeing surface feeds between port at Constitution Marina out through the North Washington Street Bridge. It’s little wonder this is so with the first waves of river herring fry beginning to migrate from the Charles River into the harbor. When asked how he decides which rigs to deploy Diggins told me that first out is a mojo rig shorn in a rod holder astern and next he’ll set out an umbrella rig on the opposite side. For colors, he’s partial to white and green and lets the fish decide which color is best for the day. When the fish are spread out, something which has not happened often this season, he breaks out the trolling plugs.

For more on river herring fry tumbling from upstream nurseries, Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett said that the tube-and-worm is custom-made for those conditions with the shadow lines of bridges, wharves, and piers near the Charles and Mystic Rivers perfect for picking off bass looking to ambush prey. The tube is also the perfect tool when looking to extract your offering from the gin-trap jaws of a toothy bluefish.

Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy said that the pogy parade in Quincy Bay is stretching from the Fore River all the way into the Town River. Shore anglers have been sharing in the good fortune as they have been able to snag up and successfully live-line this premium bait wherever access is available along this stretch. As we talked, a patron overheard the conversation and chimed in that he’s been having a lot of success and hasn’t touched a pogy, His secret has been the Tuscano Santini tube-and-worm which Lisa recommends trolling by Toddy Rocks, Seal Rock, Veazie Rocks, and Jackknife Ledge. Peanut bunker are continuing to filter into the harbor igniting blitzes.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Big blues have been on the bite from Broad Sound to Beverly according to Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem. The shop owner himself went “3 for 5” Wednesday morning while trolling Nomad plugs. The blues have been averaging 10 pounds-plus! For a tip as to where the blues are look for surface slicks that belie the oil exuded from pogies being massacred by bluefish. Of course, stripers are not to be counted out with Tinker’s Gong, Misery Channel and Satan’s Rock all noteworthy. There have been Salem Harbor surface feeds early in the morning with not much in the way of bird behavior to tip off the action. Similar stuff has been taking place by Collins Cove as well as at the mouth of Bass River.

The way TJ from Three Lantern Marine and Fishing Marine told it, Cape Ann casters just might be experiencing a case of less equaling more! With the commercial fleet handily reaching its quota many of them have become disincentivized to keep fishing for striped bass. And with those ubiquitous “back to school” signs hanging everywhere, parents priorities have shifted and fewer are getting out with junior to fish. That’s too bad for those folks but it’s just fine for anglers hooking up in Gloucester Harbor, Manchester Harbor and out front. Halibut Point continues to be among the more consistent Cape Ann spots to troll a plug, pogy or mackerel. While not something to target, sturgeon have been extremely active in Plum Island Sound with my friend Captain Tom Ciulla spotting about 20 breaching the surface while he was aboard his T-Sea McKee Craft. It’s amazing he noticed anything at all outside of the stellar striper bite he experienced there with live macks.

Liz from Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newburyport had good news when we spoke – the Parker River Wildlife Refuge is completely open to fishing and this includes night fishing for those who pick up the proper permits! Cooler, more consistent temperatures along with the cascading of herring/shad fry from upstream areas has lit a fuse in the Merrimack and Parker Rivers and brought with it more consistent bass fishing. As for the bigger bass they seem to be coming two ways for boaters: mackerel by day and eels at night in tight. With word of a slug of big bass in Southern Maine now is not the time to take your foot off the pedal.

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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Pogies, in both big and small versions, continue to be a game-changer with peanut bunker providing the fuel for bass and blue feeds in the Three Bays. Rocks and ledge from Scituate to Cohasset should not be ignored as bass never stray far from the easy meals that that structure provides. Boston Harbor can now be counted on for blues as well as big bass with pogy schools holding both predators. The tube-and-worm in Quincy Bay as well as at the mouths of the Charles and Mystic Rivers has also been a striper staple. Broad Sound through Beverly has been entertaining a big bass and blue bite as well with Salem surface feeds worth watching out for. Cape Ann sharpies are appreciating less anglers now but still loads of gamesters with Gloucester Harbor as well as Halibut Point productive spots. News of the Parker River Wildlife Refuge opening – for the remainder of the season – will be greeted with glee by anglers who appreciate how hot the surf can be there for blues and stripers! Elsewhere in the area, Plum Island Sound and Joppa Flats now have the ideal combination of water temperatures as well as bait and striped bass have figured that out.