Massachusetts Fishing Report – July 6, 2017

Pictured above: Fisheries biologist Kevin Chung recently put his cousins – Mark, Melissa and Camille – into an improving bay state bass bite.

The Pogies Cometh!

From splashdown through much of the summer, many striped bass anglers’ primary goal in these parts was to first find the mackerel and then worry about the stripers. But, that all changes once the pogies arrive and we, especially on the North Shore, have gotten a slug of pogies. Not surprisingly, the North Shore through Cape Ann is the current kingdom of the cow.

Massachusetts South Shore Fishing Report

Coastwide, in fact all the way through New Hampshire, searching for bait has gotten a heck of a lot easier. Jake from Belsan’s in Scituate said that reports from the mackerel watch are that jigging up a tide’s worth of them is suddenly no problem. Begin your quest as soon as you leave Scituate Harbor or check around the SA Buoy. Deeper water ledges such as Minot and the area by Can 21 have bait and, as if on cue, cow stripers. It seems that the fishing that many were hoping for weeks ago has finally materialized. The origin of those fish may be the Canal, which was hot as a pistol last week and has since cooled considerably.

Flounder can still be found but they are beginning to drift off to deeper water. Interest, however, is waning a bit now that the big bass fishing has kicked into gear. Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters has upped the ante for charters as his “doubles” are beginning to be “triples”. He’s combining haddock, shark, and stripers into an enviable outing for patrons. It is July after all so, not surprisingly, haddock have moved deeper and can be found in 250-foot depths. Be prepared to crank your catch in quickly lest those haddock wind up as shark sushi because porbeagles are on the prowl. Race Point remains productive and with all the mackerel readily available the method is a no brainer: load up on macks, drop them or troll over marked fish and get ready.

Greater Boston Harbor Fishing Report

Pogies are here, but therein lies the dilemma. The predator never strays far from the prey, so if you’re cruising aimlessly around just a cove away from the action, it might seem like an empty ocean. But, rest assured, the anglers snagging pogies and hooking into solid stripers off Wollaston Beach this week would differ. Lisa from Fore River in Quincy has been seeing trophy foot traffic through the door from anglers requesting a weight on special stripers. The shop scale has been getting quite a workout for fish up to 40 pounds.

Speaking of the need for a scale, last Friday I had the pleasure of requesting a weight on a flounder from the girls at Fore River a few hours after I had just caught a solid flounder aboard my friend Captain Colby’s Little Sister. The previous leader in the Massachusetts Saltwater Derby was a 4-1 caught by my friend Glenn Verdini. Along with the skipper, our buddy Armindo Ramos and I, the goal was a trophy flattie. This involves poking around irregular, rocky, weedy and varied bottom. Often, if you’re culling and cursing your way through skates, crabs and cunner, you are on the right track. Bigger blackbacks require a more varied diet than their smaller kin, which subsist adequately on nondescript flats and little more than small prey. Look for rapid depth breaks, too. Jason found just such a spot that transitioned from 35 feet to 13 feet. The result was fewer fish but bigger, including the target – a fat, flawless flounder of 4 pounds, 3 ounces that gave me quite the fight on a light outfit. For all practical purposes, this is the last month of the season for flounder as temperatures soon will be beyond what they can tolerate, so get then while you can. For tips and techniques on finding your own trophy flounder, check out a story I recently wrote for this website called, “Finesse those Flounder”. Warming water temperatures may be a sign that it’s time to poke around for black sea bass as is evidenced by a 22-inch beauty pulled from Pemberton Pier.

Darlene from Bob’s Bait Shack in Winthrop told me that their scale has been working overtime thanks to stripers up to 45 pounds that have been taken from the Winthrop area with impressive regularity. Kayak anglers are especially making a killing and the methods have varied. Some have culled out the cows off Deer Island on clams, others off the local beaches with seaworms and off course in July you’ll always find the anglers slinging eels once the sun sets. It goes without saying that when you have a lot of fish, many different methods will work and right now, there are a lot of big stripers around. Mackerel are easier pickings around the outer islands of the harbor than in quite a while. The almost mythical ledges off Hull have been producing arguably the best big bass fishing of the year so far. If you have the boat and want to wander a bit, trolling mackerel by the B Buoy, Thieves Ledge, Three-and-One-half-Fathom Ledge and Minot’s Ledge just could be your best bet of the year so far for a stellar outing.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

The mantra of big bait, big bass is a truism on the North Shore if there ever was one. Skip from Three Lantern Marine told me that there are “tons of pogies” in Cape Ann. And the striper fishing isn’t half bad either. Shawn Pizzo weighed in a 50.95, Mark Elliot caught a 47.55 and Dave Lavielle did pretty good also with a 44.85. It’s kind of redundant, but as one local sharpie put it, “There’s a lot of big bass out there.”

Ipswich Bay has been listed as one of the better locations as has Manchester Harbor, and one guy who caught large listed the Groaner as really good. As if the “tons of pogies” quote wasn’t tempting enough, mackerel have moved in big time as well. And with reports of tuna busting up on the pogy schools within sight of the shoreline, Cape Ann seems to be kingdom of riches.

Martha Moulton of Surfland continues to tout 2017 as the best for bass in years. As proof, the shop weighed in a few 40-pounders this past week. Those big bass are there for the big bait and pogies, which have increased in numbers locally dramatically. Pogies can be found throughout the ocean side of the Merrimack River, and the feeling is that some of the bigger bass that were feasting on river herring upstream have dropped down and are now dining on the pogies. Reports are that mackerel can now be found with much less difficulty just outside of Plum Island. Some of the latest hits, according to Surfland, are the mouth of the Merrimack, the Parker River Wildlife Reservation, Sandy Point and Plum Island Sound. Some have been doing fine just south throughout Cranes Beach. Most definitely your search for a big striper will be hastened if you can find the pogies.

If you’re feeling left out of the big bass party, you could short-circuit the search and hire a skilled skipper such as Captain Chris Valaskatgis of Manolin Charters who was the first I know of to spot those pogy schools off Plum Island.

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that anglers finding pogies in Lynn Harbor and Salem Harbor are catching big bass, it is that simple. His patrons are less inclined to put a weight to their catch, but he’s seeing the shots of serious striped bass. Macks have been easy to come by off Nahant and there’s been explosive action off Egg Rock. Other spots worth a go are Long Beach and Kings Beach as well as Marblehead Harbor and Castle Rock. Mackerel have been found in Marblehead, too. Those putting in the time at Salem Willows still pick up a few mackerel. A better bet if you have a boat is by Bakers Island.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

If there ever was a time to strike while the iron is hot, it is now. A plethora of pogies and a mob of mackerel have brought bigger bass in close – big time. While the South Shore sharpies are crowing about big bass on mackerel off Minot’s Ledge, I would not be surprised if that whole ball of bait/bass isn’t pushed in closer by this weekend. What would surely do it is if blues came storming in, and they are due.

Flounder in the harbor may be on the way out, but the ones that are left have packed on some serious girth and they can be found off Peddocks, Rainsford, Toddy Rocks, Hospital Shoals and by Boston Light. Inshore spots are rapidly warming and it looks as if black sea bass are taking notice. Stick to Hull Bay for a chance at a knothead.

At the moment, it’s the North Shore which owns big bass. Seek out the pogies of Ipswich Bay or the mackerel by Gloucester’s Groaner or maybe try for the “drop-back” big bass at the mouth of the Merrimack River and you’ll see why you can’t knock the North Shore.