Tuna are inflicting untold trauma on all but those who are geared up with giant-gauged gear. Variety and, in some cases, peace of mind continues to be the hallmark of those fishing the South Coast. Deep water remains above all where cows are more apt to be chewing, but many are passing on the parking lot to find their own fish with fewer crowds.
South Shore and South Coast
Trips have been a goodly dose of black and blue aboard Little Sister Charters as of late. The color reference has nothing to do with bruising seas but rather the excellent blackfish and bluefish bite Captain Colby’s crew is experiencing. On Wednesday, I was a part of the crew, and after achieving tog limits – 3 per person – as well as plenty of black sea bass for the cooler, we turned our attention to an all-out blitz which was largely composed of double-digit bluefish. There probably were bonito in the mix, but the blues were so aggressive they beat the bones to the punch. After a few head-shaking and drag-pulling leaps, I was glad to be reunited with these world-class fighters.
I was also reminded about how absent these fish continue to be throughout Massbay. Buzzards Bay anglers, however, are not bemoaning the lack of blues as the bite is on big time. A trip there is well worth the effort, especially if you’re tiring of the boat show of Greater Boston and especially around the harbor humps as the menagerie of options in Buzzards Bay spreads angling pressure around. In fact, even though the Westport River parking lot was full, we had the birds, bait, bluefish, and a possible bonito blitz all to ourselves.
Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters has been mixing it up with a variety of groundfish not very far from his port in Scituate Harbor. Shrimp continues to be the chew that haddock, redfish and cod can’t resist, over and above clams and even fresh mackerel skins. The reds have been of good size – 2-4 pounds! Humps in 180’ of water, which accelerate current and make it easier for predators to pound on their prey, are holding those species, with pollock occasionally in play as well. More good news is that dogfish, and their blue-dog cousins, have not been a factor.
While a boater and not usually a shore fisher, Captain Mark had a timely tip for his landlubber counterparts thanks to macks which have been pushed inshore. He’s seeing swarms of the striper snacks in Scituate Harbor and his bet is that if anglers were to jig them by Cedar Point and then live-line them, they would catch striped bass. I’d say that’s worth a try.
Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said that striped bass fishing along the South Shore is really hit or miss right now. You can hedge your bets by searching for pogy schools which are under siege by whales, tuna and bass and can be found anywhere from Minot out to the 21 Can. Nighttime ninjas continue to catch well by boat, kayak and from shore throughout the South and North Rivers, with some also doing well in Duxbury Bay. The latter also has decent fluke action.
Greater Boston
While normally the purveyor for putting her patrons into fish, every once in a while Lisa Dean from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy samples what’s swimming out there. On a recent trip aboard Triple Threat, Lisa crushed it for stripers between 30-43”. The action was in multiple places, with white Blue Water Candy Parachute Rigs the go-to wares. They deployed on average 4 colors of lead core line and found fish off of Long Island, Rainsford Island, and Peddock. Maybe the best part was that when their hookups began attracting interlopers, they were able to speed off and find other fish. A check of Deer Island resulted in, yet again, more willing striped bass. Shore anglers continue to chunk their way towards catching stripers off Wollaston Beach and the shoreline of Hull while kayakers are doing well with flutter spoons under pogy schools.
Laurel from Hull Bait & Tackle told me that Gunrock Beach went off recently with cows grazing on the white soft sand eel imitators the shop carries. Periodic feeds are occasionally popping up off Doctor’s Island and just off Nantasket Beach. Striper mack snacks remain a cinch near Martin’s Ledge and out through Harding’s Ledge and Strawberry Ledge.
According to Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett, anglers looking to steer clear of the armada are finding plenty of action for stripers up to 45” among pogy schools inside the reserve channel by the site of the old Edison Plant. In addition to the pogies, the seemingly infinite schools of whiting are keeping those cows in check. The water is deep here, making lead core line a must and red or Tuscano Santini tubes deadly. Pogy schools roaming between the Tobin Bridge and the Alford Street Bridge usually have bass shadowing them as well. Shore anglers tossing Vella Rigs tipped with seaworms and eels are catching well off parks along the harbor. Increased access thanks to the ongoing development of parks throughout neighborhoods such as Charlestown, East Boston and Chelsea is really paying off for these inner city fishers. Haddock fishing has been hot aboard Captain Jimmy Walsh’s American Classic, which sails out of the port of Al Gauron’s fleet in Hampton Harbor now.
As for freshwater, Walden Pond has been tops with both rainbow trout and smallmouth bass hitting well from 20-25’ down while the Mystic River basin has been best for largemouth bass and slab bluegills.
Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing said that there is a glimmer of hope for anglers who would like to land a tuna on spinning gear as he’s beginning to see more manageable “rec” fish mixed in with the giants. The captain did treat a crew to a 10-hour marathon the other day, whereupon they hooked up several times to beasts which simply could not be stopped with spinning gear. The fish were falling for Hogy Sliders and Pro Tails, all of which Brian modifies with underpinnings which can withstand the torque of a tuna. The rub with fishing for tuna is that you may be tied to a monster for hours and still untimely lose it because so much can go wrong with such a brute. While it’s tough to find consolation after losing a bluefin battle, remind yourself that most will spend their entire lives and never have the level of excitement, albeit with a loss, that goes with hooking such a fish.
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North Shore
Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that slot fish have been a common catch in Salem Sound so long as live mackerel are on the line. The exception is the sporadic surface feeds which spring up from Marblehead Harbor through Salem Harbor and Beverly Harbor. When found, the fish tend to be frenzied in those feeds. Deep water pogy schools continue to be the most consistent producer of big striped bass, with tuna terrorizing most everything intermittently. A few anglers are reporting chomp-offs by Eagle Island, which most likely is the handiwork of bluefish.
Squid remain a factor, but oddly they are of the short-fin variety as opposed to the more typical long-fin usually seen in these parts. Those who enjoy eating their squid are not the least bit happy, as long-fin squid are thought to be sweeter tasting.
Now that commercial fishermen have reached their striped bass quota, Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newbury is more willing to spill the beans without drawing heat from commercial customers. She told me that the bite for big fish has been best at night off Emerson Rocks and the oceanfront, with eels a must-have. Fish are often marked lurking among subtle depressions in the bottom, with anglers lobbing an eel towards them doing well. As of August 15th, the entire Parker River Wildlife Refuge will be open to the public, allowing shore anglers to cast to many of those very same areas. Permits are required to fish there at night, and with a minimum of research, can be easily obtained. If Martha had to pick one “best of” parking area, it would be Lot 7, which puts anglers within range of Emerson Rocks. A runner-up would be Lot 6. Sand Eel schools off Crane’s Beach are drawing fire from blitzing striped bass, with the increasingly rare sub-slot striper being reported. As is typical when bass binge on sand eels, the fish are fussy making Slug-Go type lures most effective.
Skinny water blitz last two days on the Three Bays, great for the “kayakin” anglers and we skinny water fly purist (Carolina Skiff 21 LS with an 8′ draw.) See ya out there-Tight Lines.
Fished yesterday morning on the north shore. Left the dock an hour before sunrise and upon exiting the river mouth I hit the throttle and within 10 seconds pulled back to witness a sight I have rarely seen in 30 years fishing these waters–perhaps two miles of bass lolling on the channel surface, feeding on baby sea worms as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of stripers of all sizes, the waters rippling like white water rapids from the action. It was so teeming with an endless river of fish that I couldn’t help recalling accounts from the 17th and 18th centuries of early settlers describing the fish being so plentiful one could walk up their backs across the water. By 730 high tide, when most boats were getting out on the water, the action had died. It was absolutely spellbinding.
What a year it has been. Nonstop action, most of it happening within the slot limit. I for one am so psyched about the stricter regulations. Clearly its impact is in effect.