Just in time for the Memorial Day weekend, New England’s favorite baitfish has arrived – mackerel! As is typical of the first wave, these fish are more titanic than tinker, and when hooked, they defy anglers who would denigrate them as mere baitfish. Pogies have made an appearance as well, and with all that bait, it’s only a matter of time before striper scuttlebutt shifts from schoolies and slots to – cows!
South Shore Through South Coast
Some members of the bait-or-bust brigade are beginning to stammer as they mutter little more than “mackerel, pogies”! Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate told me that pogies have moved in among the Three Bays and have been spotted just off South Shore beaches. With mackerel having arrived among eddies just offshore in about 50’ of water, the bait is now in place for the first wave of seriously large stripers. The only rub is that the macks are monsters, and when hooked, are duping anglers into thinking that they have on a cod or striper.
In anticipation of the imminent arrival of more manageable macks, some anglers are getting their trolling gear in order with plans to intercept those big breeders as they cruise by deep water ledge off Duxbury, Scituate, and Hull. In addition to live bait, deep diving trolling plugs such as X-Raps and Nomad DTX Minnows are often deployed successfully there. Blitzes have been occurring just outside of herring runs in the Town River as well as the North River, with some surmising that it’s a result of blueback herring moving back out into the bays after spawning. Area beaches such as Long and Priscilla have been going off, which might mean that there are brit herring around.
Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters talked up tautog when we spoke on Wednesday. He knows a lot of young outdoorsmen who have taken to spear fishing and are encountering a lot of tautog on their dives throughout the South Shore. Many a wreck or rock pile outside of Minot, the Glades, and off Egypt Beach are holding more blackfish than people realize. Dropping a crab trap stuffed with a fish rack by most any marina or bridge should quickly fill with crabs. They may be green crabs, but they are pure gold when targeting tog. The Legit Fish crew is right now concentrating on stripers in the North River and South River, and they are chunking up those massive mackerel rather than live-lining them. The winning pattern is that the fish are moving upstream on the flood and downstream on the ebb. If Captain Mark had to circle the two best hours, it’d be one hour either way of the top of the tide.
As fun as a flounder is on the line, few would argue that two at a time isn’t twice as fun. Such was the case for Jerry Nolan recently while fishing aboard the Little Sister. In addition to the occasional double, Captain Colby’s crew is boating limits and well-proportioned fish up to 19 1/2”. That information could be a source of great consternation to those who participated in this past Sunday’s annual Boston Zobo Flounder Derby! Personally, I would have killed to have been able to enter such a fish. There is a little over a week left in Little Sister’s stay in Sesuit Harbor, as come early June, it’ll be black sea bass and fluke time out of Westport – at least to start. There’s good news regarding black sea bass this year as the season now extends until October 14, with the four-fish limit dropping to two fish beginning on September 1st.
Timing for this is ideal because tog do not really start chewing until late September.
Greater Boston
By any standard, the annual Boston Zobo Flounder Derby held on Sunday was an unqualified success. If there ever was a tournament long on fun and short on ego, this is it. I was fortunate enough to fish with my friend Captain Vinny Simeone of Stormbuster Charters, who put our crew into fish every place we went. While Vinny placed 4th and I tied for 5th, the outing was less about winning and more about celebrating the simple joy of spending a day in the harbor fishing for flounder.
Much thanks to Pete and Denise Santini from Fishing FINatics in Everett for putting on an awesome event, capped off with an after-party at JJ Grimsby’s in Stoneham. The flounder fete was filled with good grub, conversation, prizes, and proceeds going to a worthy cause. There was also a conservation component to the event as fisheries biologists Matt Ayer and Willie Goldsmith measured and took tissue samples of the flounder. The point of that research was to keep Massbay flounder flourishing for generations to come.
In addition to moving Zobo Rigs for flounder, Santini tubes are selling briskly with a solid striper bite by the casino, along the pilings from the Shraffts Building to the Alford Street Bridge, and also to the gateway of the Chelsea Creek.
Captain Paul Diggins of Reel Pursuit Charters is back in the game after having a host of improvements added to his ride during the offseason. It didn’t take long for Paul to put his patrons into fish as slot and up stripers have been crushing his umbrella rigs and mojo rigs in the Anchorage section of the harbor. At times, he’s tempted to just stick to his slip in the Constitution Marina in Charlestown, as bass can be seen chasing river herring from port over to the Charles River locks. Feeds have been flaring up by the Coast Guard Station as well as over by Castle Island.
Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing is keeping on the move as he vacillates between local striped bass and Buzzards Bay black sea bass. Live mackerel have been getting it done for Boston bass, and when asked about the size of the bait, Captain Brian was undeterred. As he put it, the predominant year class of stripers was born in 2015, putting them. As for the “other bass”, he’s jigging up black sea bass up to 21” long in 70-80’ of water but expects them to become far shallower as water temperatures rise.
Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy said that there are pogies in Quincy Bay and, not surprisingly, stripers shadowing the schools. Two pods have popped up near the Fore River and the Town River. Kayakers trolling the tube-and-worm by Grape and Slate Islands are catching well, as are those fishing Wollaston Beach with tubes and eels. The Black Creek section, as well as the Hummocks area, is fishing best off that beach. Shore anglers are catching off Point Allerton, Hull Gut, and World’s End. The three-and-one-half-fathom ledge is holding 16-18” mackerel, which some are beginning to troll in search of big bass off Thieves Ledge and off Graves Light and the BG Buoy. For flounder, check out Bumkin Shoals, Sheep Island, Peddock Island, and Deer Island.
North Shore
Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that some mackerel are coming from the Beverly Pier and Salem Willows Pier. Soon, those macks should be joined by squid. There have been reports of flounder in Marblehead Harbor. Beverly Harbor has been among the North Shore’s best bets for stripers with surface feeds belying the bass/bait bedlam below. The tube-and-worm has been effective in Salem Sound as brit herring are keeping the bass in check. Tomo himself has been out trolling mackerel and plugs and having some success at Hospital Point. The cinder worm spawn continues with small soft plastic stick baits effective. When slurping those worms from the surface, stripers are notoriously fickle, so just be patient.
The fine flounder fishing available in Gloucester was on full display during the recent Zobo Flounder Derby. While primarily based in Boston, the event covered Cape Ann as well, with anglers up there doing very well. One guy fishing at Niles Beach placed second, while a nearby angler also did well, but couldn’t make it back by closing time. For more on that, I consulted Garrett from Three Lantern Marine, who picked Ten Pound Island, Niles Beach, and the inner arm of Dogbar Breakwater as top choices. Farther north, just a bit, the mudflats just out from the Granite Pier in Rockport can be productive as well. Stripers have been active in the harbor, but are not so obvious as the surface has been quiet. Anglers doing well are leaning on their electronics and often employing a tube-and-worm. Elsewhere, beaches such as Coffin Beach, Wingaersheek Beach, and Crane’s Beach have been fishing well. Shore casters are catching stripers in the Annisquam River. Mackerel have moved in near Thatcher Island.
“Crazy”, was the way Martha of Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newbury described the fishing scene in Plum Island. From the mouth of the Merrimack up to the Lawrence Dam, big bass are on the move and often on the feed. Jigs and soft plastics of all sorts are working well throughout the river. The dropping tide, regardless of the time of day, has been best. The tube-and-worm is getting it done at Joppa Flats, while eels are working best come dark. There will always be those run-and-gun ocean front casters, and they are picking off fish as well. The same can be said for Plum Island Sound through the Parker River, where the fishing is picking up. The tale of the tape is showing striper sizes varying from low 20” to upper 40”! As to a hot lure, Martha said that erudite surf sharpie Steve Papows recently scoffed up a few RM Smith Back Bay Poppers. Steve is a buddy of mine, and while modest, he is a marionette with most any plug made out of wood. If he’s loading up on that lure, it has to be a winner!
As for flounder, in the past, the mouth of the Merrimack River has been good as has the effluence of the Essex River/Crane’s Beach.
Just a word on conservation, which Martha mentioned, should be considered. It is not unusual for sturgeon, which are a protected species, to be caught by anglers fishing bait for stripers. There’s been a disturbing trend where some who are catching these unique, prehistoric-looking critters are mishandling them. Incidents where the fish are being dragged onto the beach with sand getting stuck in their gills are increasing and are worrisome. Consider prioritizing a clean release in the water over glory shots of the fish to ensure the survival of these rare fish. And while on the subject, we should also minimize the time a striper is out of the water before release. A good rule of thumb is to keep it out of the water for only as long as you can hold your breath! Chances are you’ll derive a lot of satisfaction after a good dosing of tail spray as that bass moves off under power.
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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
It’s often been said that it all comes down to bait, and with the arrival of pogies and mackerel in Massbay, your chances of catching quality stripers have improved significantly. The mackerel mob is especially interesting since they are big enough to be considered sport fish in their own right. Anglers stand a better chance now to encounter blitzes off Long Beach or Priscilla Beach on the South Shore. The black sea bass season in Buzzards Bay has kicked off in fine form, with fish still holding to deep water, but with water temperatures rising should move shallower soon. Drop-back, spent river herring will continue to hold prowling striped bass at the mouths of the Weymouth Back River, Charles River, and Mystic River. Anglers can almost draw a line from the herring runs out through deep water departure routes and find fish with first light best. Boston Harbor examples are by the Coast Guard Station, Castle Island, and out through the Lower Middle. Flounder continue to put a bend in angler’s rods and a smile on their faces off Bumkin Island, Peddock Island, and Deer Island. Flounder fishing just might be even better off Cape Ann, with limits being achieved in Gloucester Harbor and Rockport Harbor. While already good, striper fishing is likely to improve even more off Plum Island as herring and shad drop back after spawning and are welcomed back to the sea by seven-striped assassins!
Big pile of Silversides producing Gold off of Bug Light to just inside of the Gurnet. Tight lines.