For striped bass consistency, rivers – especially those which hold herring runs – remain a Bay State best bet. Beaches and shoreline ledge are sometimes good, but it’s more happenstance than predictable. Bright spots are bluefish on the North Shore and the South Coast, where the hardest part may be deciding what to fish for.
Massachusetts South Shore and South Coast Fishing Report
South Shore groundfishing remains great, at least for those aboard Captain Mark Rowell’s Legit Fish center console. The crew has been catching limits of haddock with regularity, a feat that is not replicated by anglers setting sail from Cape Ann through northern New England. The strike zone has been in 195’ of water between Middlebank and the shipping lanes. There has also been plenty of cod of 22”-24” along with big whiting and ‘Homer Simpsons” (cusk!). For a shot at a real brown bomber head east of the bank towards Wildcat Knoll. In addition to freezer fodder, the mate, as usual, set out a “monster” line to see if they could tempt a tuna. While a bluefin was not to be, an estimated 10’ – without tail – thresher shark took the bait and created a memory the crew will not soon forget. Threshers do steak up nicely, but not this one, as it was safely released. Scituate Harbor is still loaded with stripers, with most fish hovering around slot size. A recent trip to The Race with the goal to find bluefish resulted in few toothies but loads of migrating bass. The fish were so thick at the drop-off around 70’ that the marks looked like cordwood.
Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate told me that tog have been the talk of the shop this week. It’s little wonder after the Scituate shop weighed in a 27”, 15.1-pounder! Pete’s picks for local tautog are the Tar Pouch, Collamore Ledge, and Cowen Rocks. While crabs are tog candy, clams and seaworms will also catch them. Stripers among the bays and beaches are hit or miss as the migration is in full swing. Rivers remain more reliable because there is simply more bait with herring fry and sand eels, resulting in a solid bite at The Spit and Fourth Cliff. A few bonito have been caught on live mackerel as well as trolling plugs east of Minot Light.
As if on October cue, trophy tautog are now a reality aboard the Little Sister, with a ten-pounder a possibility. With time ticking away on the striper season, Captain Jason Colby has been increasingly adding a couple of hours of casting for bass in the river before focusing on the tog. Because of their need to feed, the stripers have been hitting all manner of lures, making packing eels unnecessary. Blues remain a factor, as do bonito, as well as the possibility of false albacore. While tempting to keep the still cooperative and very hungry black sea bass, they are no longer in season and must be released.
Greater Boston Fishing Report
According to Laurel of Hull Bait and Tackle, the bass bite is largely inside now. Hull Bay through the Weir River/World’s End out through Hingham Harbor has been among the most reliable. The tube-and-worm has been working well, as have topwaters and paddletails when feeds flare up. A few surface breaks have taken place by Spinnaker Island. Anglers chunking mackerel off Point Allerton and Gunrock Beach have found the going slow, but when caught, the bass are usually big. The shop will be keeping limited hours for the rest of the season but Laurel intends on keeping the two vending machines out front fully stocked with all kinds of bait, rigs, and lures. FYI, one of the machines is cash only, while the other takes plastic as well.
Lisa’s lead this week from Fore River Fishing Tackle was all about grass shrimp availability. The shop has flash-frozen gills, and they are planning on having live shrimp for the weekend. It’s so cool that there’s demand for this smelt snack once again. Another hint of how hot things are is that anglers are reacquainting themselves with what a limit of smelt is – 50 fish! Lisa said that she’s hearing of limits off the Pemberton Pier as well as the Summer Street Bridge. Pogies and prowling striped bass can still be found at the Fore River. Additionally, anglers are reporting sand eels there as well as in other parts of Quincy Bay.
Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett in Everett said that, in addition to herring fry, there are schools of pogies at the mouth of the Mystic River. Because of all that bait, there’s little wonder that boaters, kayakers, and even shore fishers are catching stripers still. There have been blitzes within casting range of the Deer Island Pier. With the word out, some have been tossing out Vella Rigs baited with squid, seaworms or eels at night and doing very well. Another creation of Pete’s – the Cunner Killah – has been drawing rave reviews from Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing who has been capping off ground fishing expeditions with a few outsize harbor cunner for the cooler. MassWildlife has been busy stocking trout at a number of ponds, including but not limited to Houghton’s, Walden, Horn, and Sluice. Some of this round of rainbows have colorful males with hooked jaws!
Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report
While the shop’s namesake is angling the Amazon for peacock bass, Marty is taking care of things at Tomo’s Tackle in Salem. Chunkers are catching a few stripers off West Beach in Beverly. There have been bite-offs, a surefire sign of blues, for trollers throughout the North Shore. The shop is still selling sabiki rigs with some macks taken as close in as the Beverly Pier and Salem Willows Pier. Misery Channel and the Halfway Rock area remain better bets. Groundfishing is still good on Southern Jeffrey’s as well as Tillies, but with less haddock than can be found on Stellwagen. The upside is that up north there are more pollock and very big hake. TJ from Three Lantern Marine told me that lobstermen working the Magnolia area are reporting seeing impressive bass during their trips. The shop’s last shipment of eels sold quickly, which must mean that a nighttime bass bite remains off Cape Ann breachways between rivers and beaches. Anglers trolling mackerel as well as plugs are coming tight to an occasional blue or two.
Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle said that a few bonito are still being caught on live mackerel off the ocean front! Blues are being trolled up on Rapala plugs in Ipswich Bay, and Parking Lot 3 has been among the most productive off the Parker Wildlife Refuge, with chunking doing the job for shore casters. Anglers searching for mackerel are finding them easily, and sand eels remain abundant from the mouth of the Merrimack throughout the ocean front.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Race Point is among the Bay State’s best bets for bass as anglers intercept big schools on their way southward. Mackerel and sand eel imitators are among the more effective offerings. For sheer variety, the Westport side of Buzzards Bay is hard to top as tautog, bonito, false albacore, bluefish, and stripers are all still in play. For groundfish, haddock is hottest from the Middlebank towards the shipping lanes, while there’s arguably more variety among offshore ledge farther north. Piers in the harbor are producing smelt as well as access to striper surface feeds, with Pemberton and Deer Island two of the best. Blues and even bonito are still being reported from Salem through Plum Island. Anglers familiar with fall fishing in the Merrimack are waiting for the switch to be flipped. Meanwhile, the sound remains a consolation prize. Increasingly anglers are turning to freshwater with lakers on the feed at Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs, while impressive rainbows are swimming not far from you.