The spring striper run is beginning to shift from a trickle to a torrent. The warmer water of estuaries and embayments will always hold the most action early, but shallow beaches should never be ignored. Not everyone has a bass or bust mentality thanks to an increasingly fortuitous flounder feed.
Some find reports of bigger bass biting earlier on the North Shore than in more southerly areas of the Bay State counterintuitive. After all, they are supposed to be swimming south to north during the spring run. However, not all breeder size stripers follow the same script for a reason known only to them. A segment of the population simply moves northward before the rest of their kin in spite of water temperatures below their comfort zone. A cold surf is not necessarily a deterrent to striped bass, just ask any holdover hunter who has caught them as the snowflakes fly in the winter.
When buddies and I were caught up in the grip of herring hysteria, back when dip-netting herring was legal, it seemed that every year we would find stripers earlier than the year before. No bass worth its stripes can pass up a live alewife, and we caught stripers into the upper 30” range off area beaches as early as May 4th. The bite was usually not instantaneous as it seemed that we would have to wait until passing stripers sniffed out our herring – but once they did, we’d have a captive audience of hungry striped bass in our midst. Back then, we were allowed to keep up to 25 herring, and once the feeding fuse was lit, it would burn through every bait in the herring basket.
Once the herring moratorium took effect, we knew that the bass would still be there in early May, so we worked on finding something suitable they’d be interested in. Plausibly, because water temperatures were so low, bait far out-fished lures by a wide margin. Eels worked well as did surf clams, but what really did the trick was the good old seaworm.
Rather than just spiking the rod and waiting for a bite, we found that an active retrieve worked much better. I’d deploy a “worm and worm” rig, which consisted of an egg sinker, a small oval float above a 3/0 or 4/0 hook, and most importantly, a freshwater bass-style plastic worm slipped on the hook. The Mann Jelly worm worked especially well. A seaworm would then be hooked alongside the plastic worm – not unlike how a tube-and-worm is rigged.
The worm and worm rig should be fished like an eel: simply cast it out and crawl it in along the bottom. If you miss a hit, stop the retrieve and chill until that striper returns to the worm. Here’s where the fake comes in handy; just let the rig sit there for a bit, even if the real worm is torn off the hook, the still-hungry striper will return and grab what’s left of the bait along with the rubber worm!
Chances are really good that drag-pulling stripers are swimming past a shallow beach near you right now, and because of the big beach chill, bait cannot be beat.
South Shore through and South Coast
Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate told me that anglers targeting herring runs from Plymouth through the North River are catching quality striped bass. There have also been fish closing in on 40” taken in the South River, the Glades, and Minot. Paddletails such as Bill Hurley’s Cape Cod Sand Eel are working well, and the fish have even been taking down topwater plugs. Mackerel are a no-show so far, but if the old yarn of “from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day” has merit, then those striper snacks should show up any day now. Locally, flounder are not cooperating yet, but Cape Cod Bay is more than making up for it. Shad are showing well from the North River out to the Indian Head River, with anglers fishing at first light and last light having the best luck.
Another season usually coincides with another new ride for Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters, and this year is no exception. The new Parker buddy cabin he’s taking charters on this year should excel in seaworthiness and comfort, yet still put a lot of fish in the boat. What’s especially interesting this year is the experimental live bait well, he’s adapting to the new boat. This thing is borne from catfish competitions where the goal is to keep the fish alive until they can be released to swim again after the weigh-in. In addition to a well-oxygenated system, the new livewell has compartments to store ice to keep the baits cool and alive.
The goal of the new livewell is to keep the notoriously fragile sea herring alive longer. These bait fish are arguably the best bait there is for both bluefin and bass, but are difficult to keep upright. If this innovative livewell works as expected, the catching aboard the skipper’s boat will improve exponentially. While the Legit Fish crew has not been fishing just yet, the captain’s been hearing of stripers on the move off area beaches such as Hummock and Rexhame.
It didn’t take Captain Jason Colby long to put patrons aboard the Little Sister onto the flounder minutes from port in Sesuit Harbor. Limits are being achieved with some fish pushing 19”! Odds are that soon a hat trick of species will round out the catch as sand eel-slurping stripers have been observed near the boat, and rocky waypoints Captain Jason is familiar with are also known to give up the occasional tautog. For those who gripe that other areas in the Bay State are a shadow of the good old days, the blackback bite here is like stepping through a time machine where limits are totally achievable. Worms and clams are both effective, but it’s usually the clam that catches the larger fish. With sand eels and sea herring making up the forage base, the striper fishing looks ready to go off here.
Greater Boston
Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy told me that stripers can now be found among most Greater Boston herring runs. Fish have moved onto Avalon Beach, the Town River, and into the Fore River. Occasional surface feeds are increasingly popping up throughout Quincy Bay and out through Boston Harbor. Flounder are a more frequent catch now, with Sheep Island, Hangman’s Island, and Rainsford Island all giving up a few fish. Shore spots you may catch flounder from are the Hull Public Pier, the A Street Pier, Pemberton Pier, and Nut Island Pier.
Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett said that not all is salt or bust regarding his customers. Recent stocking of brown trout, brook trout, and tiger trout in Jamaica Pond, Walden Pond, and Horn Pond has added spice to the catching there. Rivers in the area are giving up big pike as well as unexpected species such as an 18-pound channel catfish! Flounder fishing is steadily improving with Captain Anthony Forte doing well off Peddock Island, while both piers off Deer Island are producing fish. Lynn Harbor remains hot for flatfish, as do the areas behind the Walmart, the Lynn Pier, and Heritage Park. Swampscott and Manchester Harbor are producing for folks who don’t mind traveling north a bit.
The timing of the flounder bite could not be better with the annual Zobo Flounder Tournament little more than a week away!
• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Massachusetts
Vella Rig/seaworm combinations are catching stripers for urban anglers off inner harbor parks such as the Mayor Menino Park, Paul Revere Park, Mary O’Malley Park, and Piers Park. The Charles River locks and the Amelia Earhart Dam are chock full of herring with fresh striped bass pushing them.
North Shore
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that most of the striper reports he’s hearing of are taking place right now in the Merrimack River. This underscores the point that stripers sweep past area beaches unbeknownst to most as they push onward early in their migration. During a sunny afternoon tide, it wouldn’t hurt to cast a swimmer, paddletail, or topwater off Revere Beach, Nahant Beach, Preston Beach, or Devereux Beach – at any given time, there could be a school of slots+ cruising within casting range. If you really want an edge, try bait! Tomo had no take on the whereabouts of mackerel just yet, but expects them to be a factor any day now. When the macks do come in, they can usually be found off the East Point, Halfway Rock, and Misery Channel. Garret from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester said that a few slots have been taken in the Annisquam River by the Nichols Candy store. Fishers who are catching flounder are getting them inside the Dogbar Breakwater as well as off the Granite Pier in Rockport. A few should also be found now in the vicinity of the Essex River/Crane’s Beach confluence. That spot will also give up a number of big bass next month.
Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle played Houdini again as we talked, all the while balancing repairing reels, informing the general public that Media Day is now May 17th, and giving us a report. Several 34”-38” stripers have just been caught at the mouth of the Merrimack River. While there hasn’t been confirmation yet, she suspects that stripers must also be somewhere between Sandy Point and the Parker River in the sound. When anglers can punch a plug through the wind, the ocean front is giving up some action.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
With both flounder and that first striper of the season now in play, the hardest decision may be which to target! Of course, the best choice is if you can mix in both during a tide, and I found that a distinct possibility on Thursday morning while fishing with a crew aboard Captain Colby’s Little Sister out of Sesuit. Fishing for flounder for me is like revisiting an old friend, and while the wet weather could have been more forgiving, the nine healthy flounder I hooked made me forget all about the soggy conditions. There was the distractor factor as a continual bird show left one, inescapable conclusion – bass were pushing bait onto the surface. The focused group we were we stayed the flatfish course in spite of the temptation. Herring runs on the South Shore are giving up quality bass already, and not to be outdone is the Merrimack River, where similar-sized fish are taking down jigs/paddletails on the outgoing tide. Inner city anglers should give Vella Rigs/seaworms a shot among Boston’s burgeoning harbor-side park system. The flounder feed bag is also resulting in solid blackback action in Boston Harbor, Lynn Harbor, and Gloucester Harbor.