From shore, by kayak, and by boat, the current state of striper affairs can be summed up in three words – personal best time! The trifecta of the last leg of the migration, ideal water temperatures, and bays full of bait is adding up to cows, which are in some cases knocking at the nifty-fifty door. Flounder fishing in at least one area has actually improved while their toothy cousins are tearing it up along the South Coast.
South Shore and South Coast
Anyone who has been aboard the Little Sister knows that Captain Jason Colby is the embodiment of the practice makes perfect maxim, as few can make short work of a pile of fish as he can. So why was he a bit off the mark Wednesday morning? For that, the blame lies squarely with one of the species we were fishing for, namely fluke! While trying to slice his way through a boat limit of black sea bass, he tried dead-sticking a rod next to Jessica Heil and me as we drifted for fluke, with the distractor factor being overwhelming.
Nary a slice was made into one of the knotheads when Jason’s rod would start shaking like a sapling in the throes of a hurricane. Fortunately, Jessica and I pitched in and rotated grabbing the rod and hauling in the captain’s fluke. Yes indeed, reeling in Jason’s fish was quite the sacrifice, but it had to be done.
When actually hooking fish with our own rods, we had non-stop action with Spro Jigs and a dropper loop tipped with Gulp Curly Tail Grubs. White and pink/white proved to be just what the fluke wanted. Prior to the trip, I stopped by Fishing FINatics and was advised by Denise Santini to try the glow Z-Man scented grubs, and I’m glad I took her advice.l
In spite of nearby surface-feeding stripers, we passed on the bass. While tempting, the full bags of fillets we left with were reassurance that we made a good choice. I would be remiss, however, if I wasn’t having second thoughts when Jason mentioned a 50-pound class cow that he recently boated on “secret” bait which he fished within view of his slip. The big bass was released without fanfare or even pictures.
While no one’s boasting about limits, flounder in Scituate Harbor have finally made an appearance according to Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate. Anglers bouncing the bottom with seaworms in Scituate Harbor have been catching a few fish. As for striped bass, many stripers are still hovering in federal waters where they seem reluctant to leave a large volume of sand eels, pogies, and mackerel. That is sure to change when Charlie comes to town and bullies the bass in towards the coastline. Sand eels have been present near the Spit with anglers catching stripers there with soft plastic imitators such as the Bill Hurley Cape Cod Sand Eel, which is made from sand eel oil. Blitzes off beaches such as Egypt Beach have been random and unpredictable but worth looking for. Trollers working mackerel and X Raps off Harding’s Ledge and out from Point Allerton have had action as well.
Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters said that the SA Buoy out of Scituate has been a tinker-fest as he’s been able to consistently load up on those small striper snacks. The crew is still finding fish in the North River with the bite dependent on an incoming tide. Sporadic schools of sand eels are popping up on area beaches such as Humarock and drawing the heat of stripers. Race Point is an option which is heavy on mackerel, sand eels and stripers and also a best bet to catch a few bluefish. Haddock are more miss than hit on Stellwagen, but when found, are full of shrimp, resulting in pink teasers being effective.
Greater Boston
The Boston bass bite had been a deep-water affair, but there are signs that the east wind blew in bait and big bass. Laurel from Hull Bait and Tackle told me that anglers chunking mackerel from the shore of Nantasket Beach as well as Hull Gut are landing stripers up to 47”. The tube-and-worm has also been effective off Gunrock Beach and World’s End. Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy said that area rivers are still holding stripers, with the Fore River and Town River among the best because of the preponderance of bite-size pogies. Anglers trolling X-Raps among the Hull Ledges are still doing well. Mackerel had necessitated a haul all the way out to the B Buoy, but the east wind has changed all that with recent reports putting schools of mackerel – and whiting – near Peddock and Rainsford Islands.
If you’re looking to distance yourself from the crowds, consider what Captain Plankton – AKA Johnny Hoffman – has been doing as he puts Santini tubes to good use around many of the harbor islands. According to Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett, Johnny has been trolling up orange, red, and Toscano tubes and crushing stripers at Rams Head off Lovells Island, Lions Rock near Spectacle Island, and the northeastern side of Long Island. While the fish have been plentiful, there has been little angling pressure.
Anglers poking around the pilings of Deer Island are finding tautog in tight to the structure. Hooking one does not guarantee landing it, as the fish are adept at chaffing off the leader among the barnacle-covered structure. For a flounder fix, fishers deploying Zobo Rigs off the Lynn Pier are still catching blackbacks. The banner year for squid continues with the harbor shoreline, which borders Mayor Thomas Mennino Park, just the place for calamari cravers. Not all is salt or bust however, as anglers such as Bill Caldwell are finding willing trout at Horn Pond with yellow and chartreuse Power Eggs working well.
North Shore
If we follow the money, then the North Shore has the biggest concentration of big bass in the Bay State. Commercial guys have been pulling their boats from other ports and splashing them in the Cape Ann area for their quota. Fortunately, there are enough fish around to keep recreational folks happy.
Garrett from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester told me that the shop is burning through a ton of eels as the area’s big bass bite has attracted a lot of attention. Rockport has been reliable with high marks given to Coffin Beach, Wingaersheek Beach and Crane’s Beach. Anglers trolling the tube-and-worm through Manchester Harbor and Gloucester Harbor are reporting good striped bass action, as are shore anglers clamming and chunking Singing Beach. Kayakers and small boaters are having luck in the Little River and Annisquam River. Cape Ann tends to do better than most regions for big striped bass because of its close proximity to deep water migration routes. When striped bass do arrive during the spring run, they tend to stay put because of the diversity and volume of forage.
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle was a guest of Get Tight Sportfishing recently and said that striper fishing is taken to a whole different dimension when fishing with Captain Brian Coombs. At first light, there was a topwater bite between the BG Buoy and throughout the North Channel. As is usually the case, as the morning progressed, the bass went deeper but could be tempted to take down a Mack Snack or wahoo X-Raps. While Tomo is out on his boat often, he remarked how the Get Tight Sportfishing experience is just different. Patrons of the shop are picking up fish at the mouth of the Danvers River, with even shore anglers scoring stripers up to 45” on mackerel chunk. Small pogies are plentiful in Salem Sound with adult bunker staging under the smaller fish. Bass are occasionally pushing those pogies to the surface. Some are trolling mackerel by the “#1 Gong” and Newcomb’s Ledge and catching well. Squid continue to surprise anglers working a Sabiki Rig from Misery Channel out to Halfway Rock.
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Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newbury said that a few bluefish have been taken off the jetty at the mouth of the Merrimack River. Mackerel are now an easier find than at any time during the season so far, with some as close as the mouth of the river. Boaters have been taking advantage of this and early in the morning can be seen drifting along on an outgoing tide from the chain bridge, through Joppa and out into the bay. The uptick of macks has made trolling X Raps in 30’ to 50’ of water in Ipswich Bay more productive. The tube-and-worm remains a top pick for anglers who have a feel for the flats and Plum Island Sound. A few are catching flounder just south of Plum Island and also getting an occasional tautog in the mix.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Big bass are blessing everyone from the shorecaster to the kayaker to the boater – if not the best of times, it’s darn close. The dizzying variety of species along the South Coast is hard to pass up, with fluke numbers especially impressive. Drifting with a white bucktail as well as a dropper loop/Gulp grub about a foot above should interest them. There are also trophy bass prowling around in the Westport River with chum working especially well. A few flounder have been stirring to life in the Scituate area, and while the goal isn’t limits, it’s nice to connect again with an old favorite. While the ledges and humps along the outer Boston Harbor are still producing striped bass, there are signs that the east wind has brought them in far closer. If one area has to be circled as hot, it would have to be the North Shore. Cape Ann through Plum Island is fishing like cow city, with mackerel working well by day and eels doing the heavy lifting at night.