During the peak of the summer when Dog Days are the norm, many find that lightening their leaders makes a huge difference. That’s all over now, as striped bass are feeding with purpose and appear to be less leader-shy and, in many cases, lurking among a jungle of mooring balls. Heavy is now needed to haul those big bass out of certain calamity. The exception is when the stripers are found in open water, when a smooth drag is more important than strength of drag.
South Shore and South Coast
There is one species where there is no place for a light leader, and that is the king of the chafe-offs – tautog. Aboard Little Sister Charters out of Westport and into Buzzards Bay, the crew is taking advantage of the rarest of times when both black sea bass and blackfish are in play. Charters now fishing with Captain Jason Colby are able to keep up to 2 black sea bass of a minimum of 16” and 3 tautog of a minimum of 16”, with only one 21” or over. Both species are now congregating in 35-50’ of water among rocks and wrecks in Buzzards Bay just outside of the Westport River.
With striped bass on the move and the volume of bait inside the river, expect surface feeds to be a common occurrence well into October. Occasional bluefish and bonito blitzes are also still in play from the mouth of the river out to Gooseberry Point. Ideal water temperatures and migratory urges are the catalyst to a real “whodunit” fishery right now, with all manner of funny fish and even weakfish a possibility.
So you thought that the new rod you got as a kid for your birthday was special!! Rather than a trip to the video arcade or the mall, 13-year-old Braden’s mom chartered Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters. The goal was to top what Braden and his chums had thus far achieved, namely sunfish and largemouth bass by bike among golf course ponds and other small water bodies just south of Boston. It’s a safe bet to assume that Braden enjoyed catching slot stripers on mackerel a lot more than stunted sunnies and little Larrys. I can only imagine how jealous his buddies must be.
Captain Mark is finding the bass in tight among harbors along the South Shore where the bait – especially mackerel – are abundant! It’s not every September when mackerel can be found so close in, with some theorizing it’s due to the high salinity levels inside due to the lack of appreciable rain, while some even suggest it’s due to the volume of aggressive squid in deeper water. Regardless of the reason, look for macks and bass in the Three Bays, Green Harbor, Scituate Harbor, and Cohasset Harbor.
While not a bankable catch, blues have been trolled up in 35’ of water with mackerel X-Raps as well as umbrella rigs getting it done.
The haddock fishing has gotten hotter, with soft bottom on Stone Ledge productive while cod can be counted on a little higher in the water column on top of ledge or wherever hard bottom can be found. As for bait, shrimp have been haddock candy, while clams are what cod crave.
Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate told me many of his regulars are reporting bass and bait in tight to mooring fields. Open water feeds along beaches are occurring as well but it’s usually taking a bit of searching to find them. As for cod, that keeper you hoping may be found among the deeper fingers just outside of the North River. That 23” plus fish might also be caught by Flatt Ledge.
Greater Boston
Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy said that the rough outer harbor seas caused some to become reacquainted with the tube-and-worm. Big rollers kept many out of the deepwater game, so instead they took to the tube inside, and after catching well, some are hooked again after getting away from it. A similar report came from Laurel of Hull B&T, whose customers also are suddenly all in on the tube-and-worm. The bass bite’s been solid off Doctor’s Island, Point Allerton and Spinnaker Island. Anglers are also catching among pogy schools by the Fore River and Town River as well as harbor islands on the Quincy side such as Thompson Island. As is the case with other areas, marinas such as Captain’s Cove and Bay Pointe have had bait and bass in tight. Surf fishers and kayakers have been catching off Avalon Beach and Mound Beach. Doc spooks have been getting a lot of love. Cod fishing has been promising off the deepwater ledges of Hull, especially in 60-80’ of water. Macks, squid, and smelt are intermittently part of the catch off piers from Hull through Hingham and Quincy.
Captain Paul Diggins of Reel Pursuit Charters has been finding feeds minutes from port at the Constitution Marina in Charlestown. He’s also putting mojo/umbrella rigs to good use near the Coast Guard Station as well as next to the Hyatt Regency Hotel on the harbor. From first light through early morning, the captain has been seeing surface feeds as the stripers pick off herring fry exiting their natal rivers. Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics told me that the 2 Can off Nahant is loaded with mackerel, with some trolling them throughout Broad Sound through Lynn Harbor catching well. Bump trolling over marked fish has proved to be very effective. Pogy schools have been pushed into Marinas in Lynn, Point of Pines, and Wintrop/East Boston, with bass taking advantage of the herded-up prey. Sometime next month, cod should begin cruising in from the North Channel and just might be found feeding along President Roads. On the opposite side of the harbor, Nantasket Roads acts as a similar cod route to Toddy Rocks, Hull Gut and the West Gut. While a wild card, those areas may be in play later in the fall.
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North Shore
Promising reports from patrons in Salem have incentivized Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle to give it a go, and he’s been grateful he has! Stripers up to 48” have been hitting everything from topwater plugs to Al Gag’s skirted Fin-S-Fish in Salem Sound. The action has been so good that Tomo has uncharacteristically been borderline tardy for opening the shop. In spite of the beating from all comers, pogy schools are still hanging in there, but aggressive schools of bass are dividing up and scattering the schools. Misery Channel has been good for trolling white, pearl, and chartreuse Blue Water Candy rigs. A few keeper cod have been caught off Saturday Night Ledge. Another option to consider for a keeper cod later next month is Dread Ledge.
As far as lunches go, it would be hard to top Garrett’s at Three Lantern Marine. During a recent break, he walked right out the back of the shop and caught topwater striped bass! The trend over the last couple of weeks continues with a bait and bass battle taking place among marina mooring minefields. As one might suspect, guys are going through a lot of leader material. Fishers looking for cod are finding keepers about a mile out from the backshore of Gloucester.
According to Nick from Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newbury, all the mackerel an angler could possibly use can be caught at the mouth of the Merrimack River. Anglers trolling them, especially towards the south side of the island, are picking off mixed sizes of stripers. The tube-and-worm troupe is still catching arguably the most consistently in Plum Island Sound. Occasional blow-ups are the result of bass pounding juvenile river herring/sand eels. One shop sharpie is catching them up with Ahi jigs. The never-say-die night brigade are fishing the same areas at night with eels and, not surprisingly, catching cows. While we are still in the throes of salt addiction, not all that far up in the Merrimack River, pike are beginning to feed more ravenously as shorter days are leading to an uptick in activity.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
For cooler fodder, haddock and cod can be caught on Stone Ledge, with shrimp the preferred bait for the former while the Bay State’s official fish is more likely to crave clams. The South Coast contingent is hardly without, as black sea bass and blackfish are feasting with the supporting cast of stripers and bonito, making for multi-species opportunities. Elsewhere, stripers are coming in two ways – random surface feeds and fish tucked in tight to marinas. A few harbor shore spots to consider are Avalon Beach, Mound Beach and Wollaston Beach. The Santini tube-and-worm have been as consistent a combo as there is with beaches/islands along the south side of Hull through Thompson Island. For cod closer to Greater Boston, check out the Three-and-One-half fathom Ledge as well as the humps by the B Buoy. By the end of next month, those cod will be cruising in a lot closer. Salem Sound pogy schools, some of which are mired among the moorings, are holding striped bass. Look for breakaway pogy pods from the main mass to be especially pummeled by stripers. Plum Island Sound remains productive with the tube-and-terrific by all accounts.