Now that the seas have settled, anglers are finding that fish of all sorts are feeding with urgency. Those who have sampled the striper scene post-Nor’easter have also found them often tight to structure. As for those targeting tog, in October priorities tend to shift from limits to lunkers.
South Shore and South Coast
It had been little more than a week since the Little Sister crew last trained its sites on tautog, but for Captain Colby it seemed like eternity. Such is the affliction of the tog-obsessed. For many, after the wait, the question might have been “so what will I find now?’. But having chased these things for decades, the more appropriate question the captain may be asking is “am I packing reels with enough drag?”
History points to the month of October as trophy time for those looking for the biggest baddest blackfish in Buzzards Bay.
In spite of roiled seas and coffee colored water pouring out of the Westport River – all factors which hinder tog visibility – the first time out, the Little Sister limited out with fish up to 24”. Limits of black sea bass were also achieved. While the jig/crab system is the signature method which the skipper specializes in – and mentors his charters on – when the bottom is churned up, you can’t beat a tried and true tandem bait rig. Once everything settles down, the jigs will come out once again in earnest. In addition to tog and black sea bass, the ever-present possibility of bluefish, stripers and bonito remains.
Not all bemoaned the recent Nor’easter, according to Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate; in fact, some surf casters capitalized on it. Crushing rollers crunched up quahogs and tossed lobsters into the fray, making for a beach-bass-buffet! The sand-spikers casting clams off numerous South Shore beaches have been doing quite. Humarock, Rexhame, Egypt and Peggotty were a few of the more reliable striper spots. River mouths and nearby embayments have also been fishing well as herring fry are washed out of their nurseries. Alewife and white Slug-Gos are good options now, as is the trusty eel.
Cod continue to be taken from rocks/wrecks within a few miles of Humarock, the mouth of the North River, and off Minot. Rec tuna remain in play off Stellwagen, and with the arrival of fast-moving, elusive northern halfbeaks, the aerial displays have been described as awesome.
Greater Boston
Ya just have to give it up for local shops. I was reminded this week about how fortunate we are to have such small businesses while I was visiting Pete Santini’s Fishing FINatics in Everett. While ogling the inventory and wondering how I was going to whittle down the selection to what I really needed, one of the shop steadies came in for a bucket of eels and a few Vella Rigs. This guy has perfected the art of harbor wharf hopping and, within view of hundreds of thousands of commuters, has been crushing stripers of all sizes. Pete has a penchant for bringing patrons up to speed very quickly with the right gear, bait, and knowledge, and he has been encouraging these urban anglers to take advantage of park access to the harbor. The results speak for themselves, and this could just be Boston’s best-kept secret. Certainly the guy with the bucket wouldn’t disagree.
Stripers are chewing on clam and lobster remnants scattered throughout Short Beach and Revere Beach. A few blitzes have popped up in Broad Sound as well. With all the bait in abundance throughout the harbor, when found, the stripers are not lacking girth. Cod have been caught by Bob’s Bass Triangle as well as Graves Light. I would also check out the PR Can on an outgoing tide, especially as we get deeper into October.
Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy passed along a timely tip which may produce impressive dividends for those who enjoy fishing the Weymouth Back area and Hingham Bay. Herring fry, which were held back in Whitman’s Pond for fear that they would get stranded because of the summer-long drought, have been released into the estuary. For that, we can thank the 7” of rain that came along with the Nor’easter. This run is among the more prolific in the state, and as those hundreds of thousands of fry move out towards the harbor, it should ignite explosive surface action. Get your paddletials and stick baits ready!
Pope John Paul II Park has gone off a few times with shore anglers and kayak fishers all getting in on the act. A few other places which have been productive are Squantum Point Park and Nickerson Beach. Like many areas in the state, pogies can be found pushed in tightly to marinas throughout the Hull/Quincy area with stripers right on them. Anglers chunking and clamming Nantasket Beach and Wollaston Beach have been catching fish as well. The requests for grass shrimp are growing as smelt become more active as water temperatures drop. A few spots to consider are the Hull Public Pier, Pemberton Pier, Hewitts Cove, and Marina Bay.
Squid and mackerel can both be found, but due to the freshwater flow are more likely to be caught further out by Martin’s Ledge, the BG Buoy, and out to the B Buoy.
• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Massachusetts
North Shore
Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that stripers have been living up to their mid-Atlantic states moniker of – rockfish. Those tossing mackerel in among ledgy shorelines such as off Preston Beach, Castle Rock and similar structure throughout Salem and Beverly have been catching stripers the most consistently. As usual, Tomo has been sampling the local striper scene personally and has found mackerel among Misery Channel and stripers up tight among Bakers and Misery Islands. Among the mooring fields of Marblehead and Salem Harbors, pogies and prowling stripers can be found. Squid and mackerel have become a tougher find off the Beverly Pier and Salem Willows Pier, but some of that could be due to the recent rain flow. Cod continue to be a cull-through-shorty festival to find that 23”+ fish, but they are being caught off Saturday Night Ledge and Hills 47 and 101.
TJ from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester told me that pogy schools and shadowing stripers are stubbornly hanging in there deep inside Gloucester Harbor. Some mackerel and harbor pollock can be found near the Dogbar Breakwater, with striper success divided between trolling them inside the harbor for outgoing striper schools and pitching them into the white water off Bass Rocks. A few anglers have been having luck with the tube-and-worm off Coffin and Wingaersheek Beaches. Some surfcasters have had luck cranking in metal lips and spooks off area beaches such as Good Harbor and Long Beach. For cod, most are pointing their bows towards the groundfish-rich offshore areas such as Southern Jeffrey’s and Tillies Ledge.
Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newbury has been living up to the name as the post-Nor’easter action has been best off the surf. Chunkers, as well as those working worms and clams along the southern end of the Island, have been doing well according to Nick. The few boaters who have not pulled their ride have found the tube-and-worm effective in Plum Island Sound. Breaking Rocks has been holding mackerel, with anglers putting them to good use up against Emerson Rocks. A few stripers are cooperating off the ocean front with Ava Jigs and Charlie Graves Tin Squid getting it done. The Merrimack remains quiet so far.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Stripers have sniffed out all that bait and can be found in the Westport River with those casting plugs among drop-offs and rips doing well. As tempting as that is, the possibility of a trophy tautog has to make blackfish the best bet off the South Coast. Hordes of herring fry are now moving out of natal rivers and are magnets to any passing stripers. The Town River, North River and Weymouth Back River, as well as embayments, all deserve a look throughout this month. With so much bait available in the harbor, Boston bass are fattening up as they prepare their impending migration southward. Cod can be caught almost as soon as anglers clear the islands in such spots as Graves Light and around Irregular bottom out towards the B Buoy. Along the North Shore, structure in the form of mooring fields or shoreline ledges seems to be holding the bulk of the bass. For a shot at cod as well as haddock, pollock, or cusk, forgo the allure of inshore ledge and set a course for Jeffrey’s Ledge or Tillies Ledge.