Massachusetts Fishing Report – November 7, 2024

A surefire antidote for the current dearth of saltwater options is fast action fishing. That box can be checked off thanks to trout as well as the bouillabaisse of species which inhabit Bay State Rivers. There is a comparable saltwater alternative but you’re not likely to find stripes on those fish.

Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report

There’s just something about tog fishing which brings on the barbs from deck mates. From a personal perspective after losing a big tog aboard my friend Captain Jason Colby’s Little Sister I’ve often limped off while disembarking. The pain was often twofold: from losing the fish and suffering body blows from unsympathetic buddies. Pretty much the same culture exits wherever those crab-crunching wrasse are found including aboard Captain Brian Coombs Get Tight Sportfishing center console. When the whitechin bite is on, fish will be lost for a variety of reasons – its just part of the sport – so I wasn’t surprised when a similar fate befell a guy on Captain Coombs boat. The angler broke a big one off – it happens – and then the zings piled up. It only got worse when another buddy caught his fish which turned out to be a double-digit trophy. They knew it was the same fish because it came up smiling and sporting the other guy’s shiny, new hook in the corner of its maw. A tip to remember when targeting these heart-breaking hellions is to skip out on mono leaders and go with the far more abrasion resistant fluorocarbon. While Brian was planning on pulling his boat, the sweet weather and willing tog are causing him to reconsider. When I asked him when he expects to call it a season, he simply said “Dunno!”. As for Captain Colby there is no quit in site with trips planned into the 12th month as long as conditions allow. Owing to the masochistic leanings of tog-heads, the late season fishery is fittingly served up with ice in the cooler, the windshield and maybe even the dock and deck. The skipper sails out from Westport and targets his voluminous waypoints throughout Buzzards Bay.

Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said that there are still random striped bass feeds on the south shore but it’s now a case of being in the right place at the right time. So goes November! Recent schoolie action has been off Doherty’s Cove which is just south of Scituate Harbor. More reliably is what’s happening out a few miles off the coast, the activity of which is tipped off by gannets. When these torpedoes hit the water it’s often a sign of sea herring which is among the preferred prey of tuna. Not surprisingly the bluefin bite is on there. Herring fry moving downstream of the Indian Head River have been lighting the fuse on a number of warm water species from crappie to perch to black bass. Other bass considerations are Damons Pond, Pitts Pond and the cranberry bogs of Norwell. Plymouth ponds offer the promise of trying for rainbow trout as well as the occasional holdover brown trout. In addition to bait, some trout favorites of the shop are Rooster Tails, Thomas Buoyants and Kastmasters.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

It’s not often that I get a report from a shop owner who heard something of interest from another shop owner but Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy dropped a doozy on me. In season Laurel of Hull Bait and Tackle keeps a bait/tackle vending machine on site by Pemberton Pier in Hull and while she was picking it up she saw smelt swarming around the pier. Apparently this is not an aberration either as it has occurred repeatedly there around high tide. Mackerel and hickory shad can be found there as well. Some customers of the shop have been targeting bass in Sunset Lake as well as crappie and bass in the Charles River as well as Lilly Pond. Trout is tops at Jamaica Pond and Houghton’s Pond. As for stripers, Hingham Harbor is still holding a few fish with a kayaker reportedly catching them up to 26” on a tube-and-worm. It’s a lonely, chilly pursuit but I knew of a surfcaster who for years would catch stripers off Revere Beach throughout November: a pencil popper being his fish finder. Henry Olsen’s money spot was in front of the Saint George Hotel with the outgoing tide fishing best.

According to Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett most anglers in Greater Boston are focusing on trout Power bait has been doing it for rainbow trout in Walden Pond, Horn Pond and Sluice Pond. The former is also giving up a few brown trout. While at Walden, don’t ignore the smallmouth bass which will hit a Ned Rig. Kayakers dragging a Santini tube-and-worm from the Amelia Earhart Dam through the Shraffts Building are still picking up striped bass. At this time of the year the question is whether or not the fish are holdovers or migrants but it all becomes moot when lipping an eleventh month linesider. Offshore pollock have moved in with force onto Wildcat Knoll and Southern Jeffrey’s Ledge. Captain Jim Walsh and his American Classic are targeting them as well as the occasional redfish.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Exciting news from Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem as he reported that the Salem Willows Pier rebuild is complete and they are already catching fish from it! Mackerel, hickory shad, sea herring and tommycod have all been part of the catch. Blitzes are still a thing behind his shop at Pickering Wharf but most are the result of shad and mackerel. Peanut bunker must like it here as they seem determined not to leave throughout Marblehead, Salem and Beverly. You’ll find feeds with the forage but they are not often the work of striped bass. Gloucester Harbor piers as well as the Beverly Pier have been giving up a mixed bag of mackerel, shad, herring and even squid.

Shawn from Merrimack Sports said that the shop tore through it’s big bait allotment which is an indicator of the river pike bite. Guys are also working jerkbaits throughout the Haverhill stretch of the river and finding some nice smallmouths. The river smallies in these parts are uniquely colored making the moniker of black bass an apt description. Regardless of the coloration they are a blast no matter where they swim. For the “other” black bass, largemouth fishing has been hot in Johnson Pond with large shiners culling out the best bucket mouths. Regarding rainbows, Power bait as well as small shiners are working at Forest Lake, Round Pond and Plugs Pond.

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Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

Rick from Jerry’s Bait and Tackle in Milford said that anglers trolling shiners throughout South Pond in the East Brookfield area are catching quality brown trout as well as solid rainbows. Years ago I used to fish that place with a guy who was really dialed in and I found it the most consistent brown trout producing water body in the Bay State. That place is managed for just that purpose and its landlocked alewife forage base doesn’t hurt. The state recored pike was pulled out of it as well, and when iced over, anglers will target them. While there aren’t a lot of fish, the ones which swim in it are often trophies. The place also has some good-sized Larrys. It’s sister water – Quabog Pond – is a better bet if you’re looking for numbers of pike.

Eric from Lunkers in Ashland said that his shop is getting swamped with kids on bikes and scooters who have the fishing bug to the nth degree. They are buying up bait and zeroing in on Ashland Reservoir and Hopkinson Reservoir for trout. A couple nearby warm water options are Farm Pond and Winthrop Lake. Another warm water species option is Fairhaven Bay off of the Sudbury River. Eddie of B&A Bait and Tackle Co. in West Boylston told me that with lakers done with spawning they are in chew mode now and in close. In addition to bait, bring along perch patterned wares as yellow perch fry haver been observed in close. Salmon have made it all the way up to the Route 190 overpass in the Stillwater River. The Thomas Basin has them as does the Quinapoxet River. Rainbows and smallies are a common part of the catch throughout the reservoir.

Paul Jr. from Granby Bait said that anglers opting for big bait in the Oxbow are catching big pike! There’s also an occasional walleye and even bowfin taken there. Downsize your offering and you may find a pile of crappie.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Salty options do persist with intermittent striper surface feeds along the South Shore while blind-casting beaches throughout the Bay State are bound to pay off for the persistent. That fall favorite – tautog – continue to entertain and occasionally torment anglers probing wrecks and rocks with crabs throughout Buzzards Bay. Another saltwater alternative is pollock and tuna pounding sea herring schools among offshore ledges. Piers such as Pemberton in Hull, the newly renovated Salem Willows Pier and the Beverly offer a nice mixture of smelt, tommycod, hickory shad and mackerel. Chances are you won’t have to go far to find trout swimming nearly with Long Pond, Walden Pond, South Pond and Lake Mattawa among the premier picks. For a wilder sort of salmonoid, Wacusett Reservoir is serving up salmon, lakers and rainbows with smallmouth bass offering up a warm water species option.