Charlie is playing the role of impostor. “Those tuna don’t look too big for my 20000 series spinning outfit; I should be able to handle them!” Famous last words before equipment failure from an unprepared angler! “When an indomitable force meets an indomitable force, something has to give, and when it comes to tuna – metal of all sorts often gives way. Such is what is happening when anglers are coming tight to what might appear as schoolie or football tuna only to realize they have more on the line than they bargained for. Wading into the ring with these brutes in many cases is a necessary risk because that’s also where the big bass are.
The Serengeti has nothing on the volume of life that is happening in deep water in Massbay right now. A banquet of bait, including pogies, longfin squid, sea herring, and mackerel, is firing off a veritable food chain that has to be experienced to be believed. Big striped bass, bluefish, bluefin tuna, and whales randomly push through the vast pogy schools, providing awesome fishing and occasionally tackle failure. Tuna may appear to be of mixed sizes, but the ratio is weighted heavily towards fish packing hundreds of pounds of raw power.
Just ask Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing, who is deservedly renowned for putting big fish in the boat, about the dimensions of Charlie that is swimming out there. He’s packing Stella 20,000s, spooled with hundreds of yards of 150-pound Power Pro and an equally sturdy drop shot of fluorocarbon, yet he’s 0 for 6! Certainly the premium Shimano rods as well as the skillset of the crew are up to the task, but what is not is the heft of the hooks, even though they are made with metal heavier than what you’ll find on Ozzy’s Boneyard.
Very simply, the folks winning the war of attrition with these world-class sportfish are singularly packing tuna-grade conventional gear from 80 wide to full-fledged 130s. While braid and spinning gear are fine for medium-sized fish, the true giants put too much pressure on the tackle, and even when the gear holds up, sometimes the fish doesn’t, resulting in torn flesh and a devastated crew. There is no substitute for the give built into nylon lines and sufficient line capacity to survive the runs. It takes a well-oiled team to land a giant tuna, and when I’ve been a part of a successful crew, it’s while I’ve fished with my buddy Captain Tom Ciulla aboard his 28’ McKee Craft T Sea. His 130 Alutecnos are spooled up with 200-pound Diamond hollow core backing, 200-pound copolymer mainline, and a topshot of 150-pound Saiko fluorocarbon. That combination has proved to be a Charlie killer.
South Shore and South Coast
It’s been easier said than done to refrain from a cast into the bunker, bird, bass, bluefish, bluefin bedlam which has been taking place along the South Shore according to Captain Mark Rowell. How does one refrain from launching a mackerel into surface mayhem when the goal is to put patrons into stripers, and there are 50” fish in the fray? Sometimes you just have to pick your spots according to the captain of Legit Fish Charters. Most species are very active during a moving tide, and when it comes to stripers, slack is a good time to reach for that sandwich. Tuna, on the other hand, abide by a separate playbook and up their ante when the current slacks off. Owing to their 50 mph swim capabilities, they don’t need a moving tide to stack up fish; they simply turn on the jets when the current wanes and overpower most everything in their domain.
Fortunately for those looking to avoid having to make a trip to a tackle shop for new line, when the current cooks, more often than not striped bass and blues bump open their feeding windows. Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate echoed what others are saying: find the pogy schools, and you’ll find bass as well as occasionally bluefish and tuna. Most of the action remains a deepwater affair from The Gurnet through Hull, but some schools of 20-pound+ fish have moved in closer to Green Harbor, Third Cliff and Minot and elicited surface feeds. While pogies are present offshore, inside the forage largely consists of mackerel and sand eels. Early and high tide have been the best times.
Now that the Little Sister’s portside lower unit has been replaced, Captain Colby and crew are back to their winning ways. Rough seas have prevented Jason from revisiting Noman’s Island waypoints, which have been winners in the past, but fortunately, Plan B, as in black sea bass, favorites have not only been giving up better knotheads but the occasional jumbo fluke surprise. Jigging has been resulting in better average size than baiting. If you’ve never jigged for black sea bass before, you have to give it a try; you don’t have to be fancy, as these aggressive fish will hit all manner of bucktails and vertical jigs. To double your chances, tie up a dropper loop with a teaser about a foot to 18” above the main lure. The Westport River continues to serve up slot and larger stripers, with chumming up current of ledge and other types of structure especially productive.
Greater Boston
Laurel from Hull Bait and Tackle told me that there are some signs that some of the offshore bite is moving in closer. Mojo and Umbrella Rigs are ripping it up from Black Rock Beach through Gunrock Beach and out to Point Allerton. Some are topping off the livewell and doing well on big bass by World’s End as well as George’s Island. Mackerel X-Raps have been effective also. Lisa from Fore River B&T said that the bite-sized pogies which are prevalent are making for a higher percentage of hook-ups as the small size facilitates a solid hook set. That ideal-sized bait continues to be found by the Fore River Bridge, Town River, Marina Bay, Wollaston Beach and out through the Lower Middle. Early risers are enjoying surface feeds. The tube-and-worm troops, as well as those trolling pogies and mackerel, are doing well off Jackknife Ledge, Veazie Rocks, Sunken Ledge and Hypocrite Channel. After a brief bluefish presence off Wollaston Beach, things have gone quiet in the toothy department, but stripers are still cooperating outside of Black Creek, the Hummocks and Squantum. Sizzling squid fishing continues with piers off Hull, Hingham, Quincy and the Harbor all holding fish and happy anglers.
In between bouts with massive bluefin, Captain Brian Coombs continues to put the Get Tight Sportfishing crew into 45-50” striped bass! While bump-trolling between the Harbor Humps and the B Buoy, he’s keeping casting gear at the ready for stripers pushing bait onto the surface. Docs are usually standard issue, as are all manner of Al Gag’s jigs/soft plastics.
Reel Pursuit Charters‘ Captain Paul Diggins is keying in on inshore pogy schools but not for bait purposes but because he knows that that’s usually where the bass are. The captain’s favorite mojo continues to work its magic between Long Island and Nixes Mate as well as Quarantine Rocks.
North Shore
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that North Shore casters are experiencing the same conundrum as anglers elsewhere as they line up for a cast only to be shocked and awed by tuna crashing the scene. It’s certainly testing the resolve of many. Blitzes involving pogies, bass, and randomly bluefish and tuna have been occurring east of Marblehead, not far from Halfway Rock and by Saturday Night Ledge. Sabiki rigs intended for mackerel are still being hijacked by squid, with short-fin squid joining in with their more common long-fin cousins. A safer bet for those worried about the possible loss of gear is off the Beverly Coast as well as Salem Harbor, where early on there have been surface feeds with many an upper 30” fish in the mix. TJ from Three Lantern Marine said that Ipswich Bay has not been immune from tuna fever. A few anglers have found out the hard way after getting spooled while trolling mackerel off Halibut Point. The commercial guys are loading up with eels and working the shoreline/beaches between the Annisquam River and Essex River. Mackerel have been no problem off Magnolia as well as past the Groaner. Shore jockeys are catching striped bass and squid off the Dogbar Breakwater as well as the Eastern Point Lighthouse.
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Further proof of the all-encompassing “squidnado” hitting the Bay State is when the ladies of Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newbury are mentioning it! Plum Island generally does not hold squid, but anglers jigging for mackerel at the mouth of the Merrimack are catching them alongside their macks.. There have been some very attractive liivewells as of late, as mackerel, squid and pogies are all in play. Possibly the happiest anglers in the Plum Island area have been three kids having banner days at the mouth of the Merrimack with SP Minnows, Super Strike Needlefish and various spooks accounting for multi-fish outings for fish up to 40”. Those looking for mackerel are getting them at Breaking Rocks and Hampton Shoals Ledge. Shore anglers are doing well off the refuge on seaworms and chunk mackerel off Parking Lot 1 and Sandy Point. The rest of the Parker River Wildlife Refuge is expected to open very soon as the piping plover chicks take flight.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Of course, striped bass operate by their own set of rules despite what anglers think. Just as I was ready to bet the house that striped bass was for the moment a deep water affair or nothing, I get a report from a buddy which throws all my logic into the fish box. In 3’ – 4’ of water in a North Shore river during the day, he encountered 50-pound test line-breaking beasts. Upon hearing that, I couldn’t help but think of the fleet, which at that very moment was miles out from shore, playing the fishing version of Russian Roulette, hoping that Charlie doesn’t send them home, limping and in need of new gear.