The striped bass playbook says that in the heat of the summer days are dead and nighttime is the only option. Fortunately, striped bass don’t read and are defying conventional logic by blitzing all hours of the day.
Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report
Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said that the South Shore has been going off with sizable feeds and lucky anglers taking advantage of it. He’s hearing of slot and up fish falling for juvenile herring, silversides, and other small baitfish from the Three Bays through Cohasset. Anglers packing smaller paddle tails and shads have been consistently catching off Sands Hill Beach as well as among more obvious structure such as Smith Rocks, Sunken Ledge, and Collamore Ledge. Ironically, a mack snack thrown into the mix doesn’t always get the expected result: this time of the year, stripers are often particular, and if you’re not matching the approximate size/shape of the hatch, you may be out of luck. Laurel of Hull Bait and Tackle told a similar tale of blitzing just off A Street in Hull. These fish seemed to be pushing blueback herring and were falling for Al Gag’s Whip It Fish. The same lure, but in the 2 oz/6” version, has been the go-to offering for a few commercial fishers off Nantasket Beach who have found willing fish up to 47” – pearl seems to be the color of choice.
Captain Jason Colby continues to be dialed into what many consider to be the Holy Grail of fishing in these parts – 50-pound stripers! Never one to waste a resource, after filleting his crew’s black sea bass, he had been saving the heads and deploying them in the Westport River. The big bait, big fish maxim has certainly held true for the captain, as during a single morning, he caught and quickly released what he deemed as two 50-pound class stripers! The river is too warm to hold fish of that caliber now, but he has found their whereabouts in the bay. Black sea bass heads have given way to clams and plenty of chumming with a similar result – another fifty. The Little Sister Charters skipper certainly knows how to eyeball a fish of that size, having notched two dozen 50s through the years. Big black sea bass limits continue to be par for the course, with tautog a reality when targeted. With water temperatures cresting 70 degrees, Jason is expecting mahi mahi to be in play any day now among high-liner lobster pots. I’ve been fortunate to catch such exotics while aboard the Little Sister, and to hook one off the Massachusetts coast is pure pinch-me stuff!
As befitting “shark week”, Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters has been pestered by “jaws” while targeting tuna. Porbeagles have been taking down the baits, but thanks to circle hooks are released quickly and without fanfare. There are football tuna within 2 1/2 miles of the shoreline, but typically are leery as they usually are close to the coast. Miles from shore, there are big schools of bite-sized pogies that whales are taking advantage of. Should the forage push into shore, the bass bite should get explosive. Scads of sand eels are holding slot and up striped bass in the North River with the incoming tide bringing the bait and bass upstream while the outgoing tide flushes everything towards the mouth of the river.
Greater Boston Fishing Report
It’s not easy to leave bait – especially cow candy such as pogies – but according to Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy, those who are not sticking with the first school are often finding more fishy pastures elsewhere. The “right” schools of pogies are often tightly wound balls of bait that belie the presence of bass. Productive pogy schools have been found between the Fore River and the Town River. The other hot spot continues to be the Anchorage area near Deer Island, which shows no quit as bait and bass seem to be immune to incessant angling pressure. For something less “social” consider trolling the readily available mackerel throughout Nantucket Roads. That same area continues to give up black sea bass for anglers drifting a high/low rig baited with seaworms. The surge in squid numbers and water temperatures might have something to do with the bigger Boston black sea bass presence this year. Shore anglers, small boaters, and kayakers have been catching fish from slot size to 37” off Fireman’s Beach and Germantown.
Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett said that Graves Light to the BG Buoy has looked like a boat show as both recreational and commercial fishers have found big bass in the area. The go-to striper snacks are macks, Docs, and Whip-it-Fish! Some anglers are snagging up a few pogies inside and live-lining them to marked fish. The other option that a few, such as Doctor Brick, are deploying is to troll Santini tubes among the outer islands and off Nahant. Odds are you’ll be less harried steering clear of the mayhem, and you just might find your own fish.. As to which color is working, Toscano red has been tops.
Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing is not chasing the fleet or reports; he’s just consistently finding 45-50” stripers. The inshore harbor bite has gone a little deeper, possibly as a result of offshore winds blowing warm surface temperatures farther out. The harbor humps are a good place to start thanks to the preponderance of bait, especially mackerel. There’s also news of big schools of bite-sized pogies moving in from offshore, which could further explain why the outer harbor is hotter than the inner harbor at the moment.
Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
My buddy Captain Tom Ciulla of T-Sea Charters recently took a respite from striper madness and decompressed a bit with his daughter Sofia with a little bit of ground fishing. They had southern Jeffrey’s all to themselves, haddock and pollock notwithstanding. If you’re tiring of the Armada, which increasingly is plaguing striper spots, then consider this relaxing alternative. Pre-dawn sprints are usually not needed for ground fishing, and freezer fodder further sweetens the choice. Tom leans towards pink Gulp grubs as well as clams and does best by allowing his rig to just touch bottom, whereupon he shakes the rod tip to induce a strike. He calls that motion – the “haddock wiggle”! Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle told me of a pretty good inside/outside bite for bass in Salem Harbor and the sound. The forage consists of brit herring as well as 6” bunker, which might explain why smaller offerings such as Albie Snax are working well. Anglers catching mackerel at Misery Channel are deploying them effectively for bass by Little Haste and Great Haste. As for squid, the epic year continues with docks scattered throughout most North Shore harbors holding them. There are some scofflaws causing grief by leaving the line and trash; the result has been a loss of access to some piers. While it should go without saying, don’t make a nuisance out of yourself and pick up after the other guy who just doesn’t get it.
TJ from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester said that a few stripers have been picked up by shore folks using bait off Pebble Beach and the Granite Pier. Trollers working X Raps off Magnolia have been picking up a few good fish and anglers trolling mackerel off Andrews Point. A few pogy schools have been found off Halibut Point with stripers shadowing the bait. Mackerel continue to be caught from the Plum Island ocean front, according to Martha from Surfland. A few anglers are then chunking them up or tossing them whole and catching striped bass. Incoming tide continues to pay dividends in the Merrimack River and Plum Island Sound. While I expected to hear of striped bass from Martha, I was taken aback to hear of black sea bass! It seems that there has been a little bite among kelp beds along the southern portion of Plum Island as well as off Hampton. Generally, black sea bass are not fussy and will hit all manner of bait and jigs worked close to the bottom. For something different, you may want to give this a try.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Anglers are reveling in blitzes from the Three Bays through Hull, with The Gurnet giving up a few fish, as is the case with Sand Hill Beach. A bump in sand eels numbers is keeping bass in check near the North River with incoming tide fishing well. Lights out, black sea bass fishing continues with big stripers also in residence just outside of the Westport River. Next up, and not far from the port could be – mahi mahi! Black Sea bass are also a fixture in the southern side of Boston Harbor, with stripers more prevalent in deeper water from Graves Light to the BG Buoy. Salem Sound is sizzling thanks to ample forage such as herring and juvenile pogies. Blitzes have anglers taking to Little Haste and Great Haste where the bite has been hot. The incoming tide is best for bass in the Merrimack River as well as the Parker River, with readily available mackerel the best bait. For a change, consider ground fishing where boat traffic gives way to tranquility.
PP bridge has small pogies perfecto for the cast net, mac’s out front still shallow. Tight lines.