Erin relegated most to the sidelines during her wrath, but not all. The really relentless among us simply shifted gears and found willing bass in rivers, bays, and harbors. Of course, the big question is now what? Those who have found themselves in the middle of a post-storm blitz know the answer – the run is on!
Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report
The South Coast continues to serve up a menagerie of species and options. While it may be taps time for a stellar black sea bass season – Labor Day is curtain time – a better blackfish bite is making up for it. Additionally, there’s plenty of bass and blues available to the delight of fly fishers and spin casters. While aboard the Little Sister with my friends Billy and Mark, we found tautog on every rock pile that held black sea bass. Crab’s definitely have a bullseye on them now, with some of the productive spots a very short ride from the mouth of the Westport River.
We did find roiled water close in, which resulted in very fussy fish. Farther out, where sight lines for the fish were better, the bite was much improved. Have a rod with a weighted jerk bait or casting jig at the ready as soon as you leave port, as bass, bluefish, and maybe bonito blitzes are all a possibility now. Yes indeed, you have to love this time of the year.
Folks in the Scituate area are certainly loving it, according to Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate! For some reason only known to striped bass, big fish remain steadfast and refuse to budge from the North River through Cohasset. If one had to draw a circle around the epicenter, it would be Egypt Beach. If there is a casualty of the storm, it is that mackerel are a much tougher find on the South Shore now, but those showing perseverance have been duly rewarded. Early risers are also reaping rewards with luck finding mackerel as well as a topwater and jig/soft plastic bite. Blues are a factor, especially from Green Harbor through Beetles Rock.
Greater Boston Fishing Report
The Hull hardcore did not skip a beat as the combers pounded the coast, according to Laurel from Hull Bait and Tackle. Thankfully, Hull Harbor through Hingham Bay is relatively sheltered, so anglers simply retooled and kept at the business of catching bass! The tube-and-worm got it done in the World’s End area as well as just inside Hull Gut. Prior to the rollers, Black Rock Beach through Gunrock Beach had been good for mackerel trollers, with the average size of the bass very impressive. Lisa from Fore River Bait and Tackle said that on Wednesday, blitzes were raining down on Wollaston Beach! There is still a pogy presence in Quincy Bay as well as a terrific tube-and-worm bite. The latter has been hot in the Neponset River, Dorchester Bay, and Marina Bay. The kayak gang and small boaters rode out the storm and caught by the Fore and Back Rivers. The shop is getting requests for grass shrimp from anglers who are encountering smelt in the Hull through the Quincy area.
River herring fry tumbling out of the Charles and Mystic Rivers are making for a nice striper snack, according to Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett. Some seriously large striped bass are taking advantage of the hapless herring with small paddletials doing the trick, as does the Santini tube-and-worm. Town tog, which hang around the jungle of wooden pilings that dot the inner harbor, are heeding natural signals and feeding more. Chances are if you drop a crab pot most anywhere near the shoreline of the harbor, you’ll be rewarded with choice tautog baits. Don’t be surprised if a crab intended for a tautog doesn’t wind up engulfed by a striper. Squid are still hanging in there, but for how long?
Pete said that not all his patrons have a salt or bust mentality, as some target trout! Water bodies far and near, such as Jamaica Pond, Walden Pond, South Pond, and Long Pond, have propensities for giving up trophy brown trout. Tom Nagle and Bobby Santini catch some real corkers by deploying old-school salmonoid offerings such as streamers, DB Smelts, and Mooselook Wobblers. Of course, there will always be a place for shiners and “garden hackle”.
Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle just got through a productive Thursday morning when we spoke. Mackerel were easy to find off Children’s Island and Misery Channel and proved to be money in Salem Sound. The crew lost count of slot through 38” fish, which were blitzing and biting through 8:30! Drifting through surface feeds proved to be the key as waves of fish came and went. Elsewhere, there have been mixed sizes of pogies throughout Bass River and the Danvers River, with bass and blues occasionally pounding them. The rocks are beginning to roll as stripers and blues prowl along ledgy shorelines throughout the North Shore. Squid are still around off the piers of Swampscott, Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, and Cape Ann.
TJ from Three Lantern Marine told me that the passing storm seemed to reignite feeds in Gloucester Harbor as bass and occasionally blues pound bait. Anglers toeing the wash off Pebble Beach have been catching with swimmers and topwaters. Mackerel can be found just outside of the breakwater and occasionally from the breakwater. Chunk mackerel fished off he lighthouse has been effective for stripers.
Nick from Surfland Bait and Tackle said that the storm seemed to pick up the bite as reports have improved. In addition to chunk mackerel, GT Eels, Slug-Gos, and “tin” such as Kastmasters and Charlie Graves Tin Squids have been in demand. It takes some derring-do to find clear water, but willing fish are the reward for the effort. South of the island, from Sandy Point through the Essex River, has been fishing well. Anglers looking for macks are having no problem finding them. Hampton Shoals Ledge, the Speckled Apron, and Breaking Rocks have historically been mackerel hot spots.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Now that the seas have settled, the South Shore bass and blue bite remains one of the Bay State’s best bets. Anglers reveling in a good old-fashioned blitz off Wollaston Beach may disagree, however. Of course, Buzzards Bay anglers may beg to differ, as well as the bass and blue feeds have to compete with bonito, blackfish, and black sea bass. Salem Sound has had some impressive surface feeds, and with mackerel close by, bait acquisition couldn’t be any easier. With Erin in the past, Plum Island fishing has improved so long as anglers are able to steer clear of post-storm weed.