Stable water temperatures along with a buffet of bait from Plymouth to Plum Island are spreading the striped bass bite around. South Shore surf sharpies are even getting in on the fun with reports that the fish have been anything but fussy. There’s even been a North Shore flounder bite which seems to have come out of nowhere!
South Shore and South Coast
There are signs that what was once exclusively an offshore bass bite has shifted inshore. Over the last week, pogy schools have moved in closer – possibly because of larger predators bullying them towards the shore. Regardless of the reason, surf casters, kayakers, and boaters who have one eye on gas prices have switched from audience mode to participatory mode. Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said that some of the feeds right off area beaches along the South Shore have been stellar. Sand Hills Beach recently went off big time as 40”+ bass seemed hell-bent on taking down all that was tossed their way. Everything from paddletials to Robert’s Rangers were reportedly working.
Paralleling the shore action has been the sustained offshore bite with mackerel and deep trollers working at the edge of contour lines or the edges of ledge accounting for big fish. Periodic pods of pogies have been encountered wherein anglers casting topwaters and Joe Bagg’s jigs have been hooking up. Flatt Ledge has been particularly good.
Pogy schools have also been pushed into the Three Bays, Green Harbor and Scituate Harbor. All that bait, along with bass, has tempted Captain Mark Rowell to stay put in port where he’s finding cruising stripers not far from his slip. However, the Legit Fish Charters Crew has found a bigger pile of stripers by the site of the decommissioned Plymouth power plant as well as Minot. As if any more bait was really needed, a slug of shrimp has moved in among deep-water ledges in Cape Cod Bay, and this has attracted gadoids of all sorts, with haddock, cod and pollock the main players. Not surprisingly, shrimp have been the most effective bait.
Fishing addicts know full well that six hours while focusing on the bite disappear in the blink of an eye. On a recent six-hour trip aboard Little Sister Charters, Captain Colby somehow managed to target three distinct species all requiring unique fishing methods. While out last with my friend Keith Huntoon, we caught an enviable trifecta of tautog on crabs/jigs, black sea bass while vertically jigging, and fluke on jigs/Gulp. At the risk of redundancy, it bears repeating that the Westport Side of Buzzards Bay is one big, varied fish bowl. The black sea bass are hovering off Gooseberry Point while the tog are farther out among wrecks and rocks in deeper water. Fluke can be found in the Westport River, outside the mouth and off Sakonnet.
Greater Boston
The frugal Boston angler has caught a bit of a break as more bait and bass have moved inshore, requiring less fuel to pull off a bite. Laurel of Hull Bait and Tackle told me that while deepwater trollers working ledge off Hull are still catching, their inshore counterparts have experienced an uptick in their catch rate as well. Anglers trolling plugs and bait not far from the Hull shoreline are doing well, with Harding’s Ledge especially productive. Surf casters have also experienced more action as bait and bass have at times swam into casting range. Black Rock Beach, Gunrock Beach, Nantasket Beach and Point Allerton are all in play for those casting chunk and clams and then chilling while awaiting action. Umbrella and Mojo Rigs off Thieves, Martins and out to Three-and-One-half fathom Ledge are working as well.
A trend worth noting, of which I’m hearing on many fronts, is that bait and bass seemed to have moved in through Nantasket Roads, resulting in impressive fishing according to Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy. It’s little wonder with the appearance of mackerel, pogies and whiting. Anglers have been scoring stripers off the XYZ Street in Hull, Spinnaker Island, behind the Hull High School, Hull Gut and off Peddock, Rainsford and Quarantine Rocks. Shoreline fishers continue to catch off Wollaston Beach and Squantum. The stellar squid season continues from boats, kayaks and piers throughout Hull, Quincy and elsewhere in the harbor.
Not all anglers are exclusively catching with bait, trolling plugs and umbrella rigs, as evidenced by the success my friend Captain Paul Cuzzupe is having. Paul’s hand-tied works of art – AKA Cuzzupe Clousers – have been proving irresistible to 40”+ stripers just off Peddock Island. After Paul showed me a set of his masterpieces, I suggested something to imitate the ubiquitous squid – which he’s now hard at work whipping up.
Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett sent me a recent picture which looked as if it could be a striper shot from yesteryear. For me, that photo reset the reality dial in this era of glide bait, big soft plastic eels and deep water trolling hysteria. The scene was from a night tide, a cooking Boston rip and big metal lip plug hanging from the fish’s maw. If your ultimate goal is to check off the fifty-pound bass list, then you can do a lot worse than try this method.
The cow-killing plug in question is the Gibb’s Deep Diving Danny. As to where: the Deer Island “Rips” – yes, there are two – and Faun Bar. The former fishes best on the outgoing tide while the latter fishes best on the incoming. If you’re careful, Deer Island can be fished while trolling or under anchor with the big plugs lazily rolling/wobbling in the rip-line. As for Faun Bar, anchoring and free-spooling the plug into the rip is the best way to work it. Often I was a guest aboard the boat of a very skilled practitioner of this technique and saw personally how magical this method can be for ridiculously large stripers.
Daytime Santini tube trollers continue to do well from the Tobin Bridge, along the jungle of wharf pilings and out towards the casino.
Elsewhere, Charlie fever rages on as giant bluefin continue to crash pogy schools from Minot Light to the B Buoy and further north. Anglers toting tuna-capable conventional combos are catching them up, while the rest are usually in need of a tackle refresh. Losing occasional gear while fishing among the giants is a price most don’t mind paying as big bass continue to feed among the ball of offshore bait which persists there.
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North Shore
Headboats from New Hampshire have been targeting winter flounder and yellowtail flounder just outside of the Essex River. Piggybacking on recent flounder catches at the mouth of the Merrimack leads to the inescapable conclusion that there has been a neat little, unexpected bump in blackback (and yellowtail) numbers in Ipswich Bay! With water temperatures on the rise, odds are that this fishery will not last long before the flounder biomass moves offshore.
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that the sizzling squid season continues unabated as both short fin and long fin remain part of the catch. Piers throughout the North Shore and into Cape Ann are holding plenty of squid. Thankfully, quality stripers are also figuring in the catch with ideal water temperatures and bays full of bait keeping them on the move. Birds have been shadowing feeding stripers in Beverly Harbor, Marblehead Harbor and Salem Sound. Pogy schools offshore remain a factor with reports of bass and bluefin action well into Ipswich Bay and as far north as the Isles of Shoals.
Garrett from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester said that the commercial consortium has been getting their fill among pogy schools in the Plum Island area. Eels and mackerel have been the go-to offerings. The other strong option is the stretch between Long Beach, Cape Hedge Beach and Pebble Beach. Thatcher Island has also been good for those trolling mackerel.
Squid are duping inexperienced anglers into thinking they are encountering bluefish, according to Martha of Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newbury. Like many predatory species, squid occupy the role of hunter and the hunted and will not pass up the chance to grab a mack snack. Some seeing the pocket-sized marks are enquiring whether the damage is due to bluefish. Of course, anyone who knows bluefish knows that they don’t nibble – they destroy.
Anglers finding the pogy schools just off the oceanfront are doing best. The pogies are generally on the small side, making for high-percentage hook sets. Many are loading up on macks, which are readily available, before they begin their search for striped bass. Plum Island Sound and the Merrimack River are largely hit or miss with the tube-and-worm being deployed by those among the more successful.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Offshore anglers are doing best by looking for the bait balls – especially those which hold pogies. Look for tightly wound schools off Plymouth, Minot and Hull. The B Buoy also still has bait as well as bass and bluefin. Thankfully, it’s not all deep or don’t bother as fish have moved in closer, with beaches such as Sand Hills Beach, Nantasket Beach and Wollaston worth a look. Trolling mackerel or deep divers from Minot Ledge through the Hull Ledges also remains hot. For variety, it’s hard to top the South Coast where, thanks to black sea bass, fluke and tog, you can have quite the day without taking a single cast towards a striper.
Top the livewell off with pogies or mackerel and try trolling them off Nantasket Beach or the trough in the harbor between Peddock Island and Quarantine Rocks. The flounder fishing just outside of the Essex River has to be one of the North Shore’s best bets. Not to be ignored are the pogy schools milling around off Long Beach in Rockport or the Plum Island oceanfront, rest assured, stripers will not be far off.