Massachusetts Fishing Report - November 8, 2018

Among the striper-obsessed, November is comparable to an extra innings baseball game. But just like the Sox during their marathon 18 inning ordeal during the World Series, for some quitting is just not an option!

Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Report

I wasn’t expecting to have much of a striper report this week, after all it is November. But then I got the calls over the weekend from three different friends all eyeballing blitzes! One was from poor Captain Brian Coombs who witnessed mayhem taking place right in front of Kelly’s on Revere Beach Sunday! I’m not sure what Brian was ordering but I hope the sight of diving birds and busting bass didn’t give him indigestion! Inspired by these reports I decided to sniff around among a few fall favorites and found some real drag-pullers. It’s a pretty neat thing when we’re well into November and there are tackle testers still in our midst!

Water temperatures are still within the ballpark of a striper’s comfort zone and with plenty of bait still available the question could be, “why would they leave?”!

Pete from Belsan’s Bait in Scituate said that most of his hardcore 11th month striper chasers have been hitting the Cape Cod Canal and reporting action but a lack of fish breaking the keeper mark.

Closer to home there were bass breakouts over the weekend off Second Cliff and Black Rock Beach. It could be a case of the “tree falling in the forest…” limerick with the bass outlasting those who would notice.

The GOM haddock season reopened on November 1st for the recreational angler only. Last reports put the haddock squarely among the shallows of Stellwagen Bank.

Lisa from Fore River told me of a schoolie bite recently right behind the shop! Smelt seekers have been requesting fresh grass shrimp but the ladies running the shop are finding that all the freshwater from recent rains is having a negative effect on the condition of the shrimp, making them less hardy and difficult to keep alive. Don’t let the lack of live grass shrimp leave you forlorn, the Fore River girls have your back thanks to gills of flash-frozen grass shrimp they have plenty of in stock.

Regarding smelt spots, the winner is Winthrop Harbor off the public pier! There have been bass blow-ups off of Wollaston Beach, Revere Beach and off Nahant! Never discount the mouths of rivers, even this late in the season. With more available habitat for herring to spawn expect a more prolonged fall migration out to sea for the herring fry which should last into December.

As long as there is prey available you can expect some predators to remain as well and in this case that role is filled by striped bass! Mackerel have been caught off the Fisherman’s Beach in Swampscott as well as Salem Willows. Skip from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester told me that he is still selling Sabiki Rigs for anglers targeting mackerel off the State Pier in the harbor. Farther north the Granite Pier in Rockport is a potential mackerel spot. If we get a break in the weather, the shop is hoping anglers will take advantage of the opening of the haddock season on Tillies Basin and Jeffrey’s Ledge. In addition to haddock, there should be plenty of potent pollock out there as well!

Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

Rain get’s a bad rap for many venues but not when the goal is to catch Wachusett Reservoir salmonoids.

According to Eddie of B&A Bait in West Boylston there are plenty of landlocked salmon in the Stillwater River from the basin up to the Route 190 Bridge but it’s challenging to find them with water and flow levels historically high. The Quinapoxet holds salmon and rainbow trout as well.

One spot to consider with all the current is the section of the Chu between the power lines and the three ponds just past the shop on the right hand side off Route 110. My friend Larry Kuettner used to always refer to this spot as “Three Pond Point”. Find that point and work a 3/4 ounce or 1 ounce Kastmaster in the current flowing out of Thomas Basin. A buddy of mine years ago tallied 20 lakers in one setting here when conditions were similar.

Smallies are still in close and the reservoir’s uniquely colored rainbows are prowling the edge of the drop-off off Route 70! The fall rainbows here are gorgeous with distinctive purplish flanks and by now many spring stocked fish should be nearing 17” in size. Suspend a small to medium shiner under a float right at the edge of the depth break to intercept those beautiful bows.

Current isn’t such a good thing in the Connecticut River according to Captain Patrick Barone of Charter the Berkshires outfitters. In the Holyoke section of the river, walleye and pike are on the prowl but the fluctuating flow makes it hard to get a bead on where to find these bad boys. Look for depressions in the riverbed for the walleyes and blowdowns as well as current seams for the pike. You can do a lot of searching or short circuit your effort by hiring Patrick to show you the ropes. Catching a walleye in Massachusetts is a pretty cool thing and Patrick has the pictures of some real pigs as proof that he’s dialed in. His hint for the week is to find oxbows, sloughs and other spots outside of the main current. A jig/curly tail grub combo works well for walleyes, while a big, gaudy spinnerbait will get noticed by northerns.

Fishing Forecast for Massachusetts

If holding rake has replaced holding a rod in your spare time than be sure to put aside a few hours of fishing this weekend. While the vast majority of bass have passed on to more southern environs, schoolies were recently observed blitzing off a handful of area beaches. Far bigger bass can be found foraging throughout river watersheds which harbor herring runs with low-light and nights when these fish are most active. Regarding sweetwater, the incessant rainfall has been a blessing for those looking for lakers and salmon throughout the Chu and it’s tributaries. Once levels drop-off to more normal levels, expect the Connecticut River to have a red hot walleye bite in the Holyoke section.