Massachusetts Fishing Report – September 12, 2024

Menhaden have been called the most important fish in the sea and for those pursuing stripers and blues that is especially true. While the adults tend to get most of the attention, it’s their pint-sized prodigy which is making this a September to remember.

Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report

It’s kind of early to be handing out grades, and while I’m fairly certain that Pete Belsan (of Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate fame) does not command a class, nevertheless he’s been giving out – As! That is precisely how he’s been scoring the last few days as the fishing on the South Shore has been nothing short of fantastic. What’s also refreshing is that shore jockeys have been getting in on the feeds which is some cases has been but a cast away from beaches all across the South Shore. As is often the case when stripers key in on such small forage they can be fussy but anglers just sticking it out with ersatz baits such as shads, small bucktails and wide profiled metal such as Kastmasters are catching big blues as well as bass to 40 pounds! Recent top spots have been a bit north in such areas as Black Rock Beach, Gunrock Beach and Spinnaker Island. Boaters have reported good bass/blue fishing near Billingsgate Shoals. For a shot at a keeper cod check out uneven bottom in the Flatt Ledge area as well as by the 21 Can. Tinker mackerel continue to be an easy pick inshore while tuna tempter size macks are requiring a hike towards the bank to acquire.

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters has been shaking things up beyond the South Shore while taking charters out to fish for false albacore and Spanish mackerel in the Craigsvillle Beach area in Nantucket Sound. There have been no shortage of bass and blues occupying cleanup duty as those southern speedsters leave a wake of injured/dead bay anchovies in their wake. Locally the skippers pick is the North River where the bait buffet of baby bunker, herring fry and tinker mackerel are keeping stripers in check. Squid are swarming throughout Stellwagen with the SW corner chock full of Charlie in the 60” category.

Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters is simply crushing the cod in the Coxes Ledge area! The size fish this year is exceptional with double-digit fish the norm and the occasional bomber pushing 25 pounds. In the mix and into the cooler have been a smattering of hake. When seas don’t permit a haul, the crew has had to settle for an increasingly hot tog bite as well as bonito and stripers in the river. By any standard the catching aboard the captains Contender CC has been impressive.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy has been hearing the language of the smelt fisher spoken in the shop for the first time this year. Taciturn anglers are requesting small size Sabikis, tiny seaworms and enquiries into whether other anglers are in on a smelt bite. Early in the season and well before the smelt move upstream they will gather near piers off Hull and Hingham as well as Hewitts Cove. The Summer Street Bridge can never be ruled out regardless of the season. With all the pogies, peanuts and tinkers around there is little wonder why stripers and blues are hanging in there in the harbor.

For more on that Captain Paul Diggins of Reel Pursuit Charters weighed in. He’s been having luck drifting through Hull Gut with Mojo Rigs, trolling plugs among pogy schools by the Anchorage and all of the above working well nside of the Tobin Bridge. Should things be slow for you in the harbor, consider the mouths of rivers which support herring runs – as well as nearby environs – river herring fry are a snack stripers find hard to ignore.

According to Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett, Broad Sound beaches are fishing as they usually do now as they are – hot! Bluefish and bass bedlam has been a regular occurrence off Revere Beach, Short Beach and Winthrop Beach. The Santini Tuscano tube has been terrific as has top water lures as some of the feeds have been on top and obvious. Pogy schools are hanging in there deep into Winthrop Harbor with bass and occasionally blues in on the bait. For cod set your sites on the B Buoy Humps where Pelican Green Teasers have been doing the trick. For a different sort of tasty groundfish, which are a bit of an unsung hero in these parts, consider cunner, or sea perch as we Bostonians like to call them. Like their tautog cousins, this is the time of the year when the larger ones school up and feed especially voraciously. Drop a top/low rig with a seaworm, piece of squid or clam to the bottom near Graves Light, the Roaring Bulls, Green Island or any of the Brewster Islands and you should find all the cunner you can fit into a cooler. Another similarity they have with their bigger wrasse cousins is that they taste great. Should you be developing a taste for sweetwater then Pete would like to remind anglers that the fall trout stockings are ongoing with a special mention going towards Walden Pond. There’s also been a pretty good smallie bite there on Ned Rigs between 15-20’ of water.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Every year about now sportsmen up north flip the “not fishing as much” switch, and shop hours up there reflect that. So what are the Downeast diehards, as well as the Granite State gang who know no quit, to do? They patronize our shops such as Tomo’s Tackle in Salem! While that’s good for them it’s also good for us because it means that those bass that they are still catching have to wind their way past our shores eventually. What’s brings those anglers in now are bass offerings such as Fish Snax XLs. Al Gag’s Whip-it-Eels, 12” Slug-Gos and GT Eels for the big bass night bite. Locally mackerel have moved into Marblehead Harbor with anglers live-lining them among rock/ledge/white water up against Chandler Hovey Park, Castle Rock, Tinkers Island, the Breakers as well as Little Pig Rocks. Surface feeds, largely thanks to slot stripers working schools of peanut bunker, have been reported by Eagle Island Channel with topwaters working well. For inshore, check out just outside of Swampscott and Marblehead, both areas of which have historical held good cod in the fall.

During a morning walk with her doggy, Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newburyport saw peanut bunker washed up on the shore. The recent east winds pushed in not only the bait but mild water temperatures. There are solid reports of 18”-24” stripers feeding during daylignt off the ocean front with the size fish bumping up appreciably come nightfall with eels. A few blues have fallen for the surf guys and especially the boat brigade. The tube-and-worm has been working well in the sound and inside the Merrimack River. Surfland is also getting a steady stream of our neighbors to the north with word that the Kenebunkport area has been on fire. Mackerel are mainly a tinker-fest with anglers finding them not far out in Ipswich Bay. .

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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

South Coast cod, blackfish and bonito are among the headlines in the Westport side of Buzzards Bay. While good cod fishing is nothing new, the bonito bite this year is exceptional with those fast growing small tuna averaging 4-5 pounds. Peanut bunker continue to be the catalyst for superb bass and blue fishing with the Scituate through Hull area especially hot. In the harbor some anglers are beginning to turn their attention to smelt and even sea perch. However with bass and blues still hanging in there off Hull, Quincy Bay as well as the Anchorage and inside of the Tobin Bridge, there’s no reason to give up on Boston bass and blues just yet. Winthrop and Revere Beach have been featuring typical fall run blitzes, while Salem through Marblehead are best bets for inshore cod. Recent east winds have blown in baby bunker as well as bass and blues within casting distance of Plum Island.