Massachusetts Fishing Report – November 3, 2022

Economics figures prominently in this week’s fishing forecast. Demand for bait remains high meaning that the supply of gamesters is still in abundance. However, that law does not always result in positive results; just ask the angler trolling a tube and worm in the middle of acres of baby blueback herring while marking stripers too full to feed!

I’ve been trumpeting the boon in river herring numbers for some time but a quirky combination of factors almost has some of us rethinking whether it was such a good thing. The season-long drought in many instances has thwarted all those herring fry born upstream from egressing and finding their way into the sea. Recent rains have eased access and in some rivers/embayments, the surface looks as if its raining – the herring are that plentiful. With less striped bass in residence now, found fish can be fussy to say the least. Eels even at night are often ignored, a tube-and-worm practically bumping against those bass seems invisible and that favorite soft plastic of September is shunned more often than not. Should you find yourself in that predicament be prepared to go even smaller; with the fry 2” to 3” it’d be a good time to visit your local shop and grab those 3” shads/stick baits or jerk baits which have largely been ignored for the bigger wares. With water temperatures still close to a comfortable 55 degrees and more bait than bass, those fish are often persnickety so prepare to downsize to up your catch count. The reward for shifting gears could be a November slot or bigger!
 

Massachusetts South Shore/South Coast Fishing Report

I didn’t expect Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate to describe the local linesider fishing as “excellent” because after all it is November. With water temperatures still favorable – and a sweet foreseeable forecast – the handful of hardcore striper fishers still at it are catching bass up to 20 pounds! Chicken scratch Yo-Zuri Hydro Minnows have been hot on roving schools of schoolie through slot stripers. The fish are nothing if not fast moving making the “where” random and unpredictable! Good reports have trickled in from the Cohasset Shoreline but just as promising has been anecdotes at the doorstep of the Canal! Night shifters are still demanding eels and keeping the shops busy ordering more! The outlet at Ellisville Harbor, Beaver Dam Brook, the Eel River, Town River, Green Harbor and the South and North Rivers are all interesting prospects. Again, since some of these hold herring pack small stuff too. The shop is also supplying green crabs with three anglers registering a 14 tog outing in the Minot area! They only kept their allotted 3 fish per person and released the rest. For many however, November means freshwater and for them Fearing Pond and Little Pond are still giving up rainbows from recent stockings.

After a recent striper outing which handed my buddy Steve and I one big fat skunk in spite of marking loads of linesiders I was feeling a bit insecure until a report from Captain Jason Colby assuaged my fears. During last weekend the Little Sister crew croaked major white chins and cod and in some cases were done 2 1/2 hours after launch! And then despite marking fish on proven spots the latter part of the week delivered just a fraction of that action. What is that expression about it being called fishing rather than catching? The good news for future crews is that once the tog shake free of their malaise the bite is bound to get really good, in fact I have one eye on a next week trip!

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy has historically delivered hope for saltwater anglers looking to do something in the offseason. For years Rick Newcomb the “shrimp king” used to strain inlets throughout the Black Creek watershed for grass shrimp and had everything a smelt fanatic could want from gills of fresh/flash frozen grass shrimp to “pens” to keep them alive to rods/reels and terminal tackle. So it is with great anticipation that I call Linda, who has been at the helm of Fore River in recent years, at this time of the year in the hopes of finding a cold water fishery. Lo-and-behold she delivered with news of a decent winter flounder bite off Nut Island! It seems that a few very experienced salts have been having their way with 15/16” blackbacks right off the Nut Island Pier! One angler even commented that the action was better than in May! There also has been a lot of interest in smelt with anglers gobbling up seaworms and Sabiki rigs. These folks are repeat customers so the bite must be on somewhere, but they aren’t telling! If I had to pick one spot to try it would be the Summer Street Bridge where whiting are sometimes found as well. The shop is moving a lot of eels with one angler claiming he was catching a fish on nearly every cast with the serpents. Ferry Beach has been good as has the Weir River, Hull Gut, Bare Cove Park and Great Eskers Park. If you crave calamari the squid game is on throughout the Truro/Provincetown area. There are a dearth of squid jigs on the cape because of demand but as of now Fore River has plenty. With word of stripers still Downeast in Maine, expect beaches to still hold bass well into mid-month. A late friend of mine, Henry “Lolly” Olsen from Revere, used to catch bass regularly on pencil poppers off Revere Beach nearly as late as Thanksgiving!

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that commercial cod fishermen have been talking about finding all kinds of squid on inshore/north shore humps. Because of that information one of the recreational regulars of the shop checked it out and really had luck with those Loligos! Not surprisingly all that squid are keeping the cod in check. As for stripers, surface feeds are still common off area beaches with an occasional slot joining the schoolies in the action. One of Tomo’s patrons who lives in Nahant is still catching schoolies as well as slots off the rocks there with Storm shads and Al Gag’s Whip-it-Fish working well. The shop is gearing up for it’s Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale! I’m betting that Tomo’s customers will be decidedly more composed than the frenzied stampeders hitting the big box stores that day!

TJ of Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester told me that stripers are still cooperating for the few who are targeting them. Anglers will drive along Route 127A, which winds along much of the Cape Ann shoreline, and look for feeds and they’ll jump out of their trucks and into a blitz. The talk lately has turned to tautog for some odd reason; maybe lobster fisherman or divers are reporting seeing them? Either way the shop intends on stocking tackle for them next season as well as freshwater tackle!

My buddy Captain Tom Ciulla of T Sea Charters was out in his “element” last weekend, which was groundfishing. The skipper loves dropping a jig or bait on southern Jeffrey’s Ledge or Tillies above all because of the “you never know” factor. A halibut could come along but more likely haddock, redfish, cusk and cod. But every once in a while a real surprise such as a monster wolffish takes the bait. Tom came tight to just such a beast, which he estimated to be about 4’ long! There is a moratorium on these toothy critters so if caught they must be admired and released without fanfare. Adding to the outing was a pod of dolphins which came out to play. There really is nothing like the “deep”!

Martha from Surfland Bait and Tackle in Newburyport corrected me regarding last weeks report. The Parker River Wildlife Reservation will remain open during the day only until the first of the plovers return in April. Those who cherish the nightlife will have to be content with the ocean front by the shop as well as the Merrimack and Parker Rivers. There are still some peanut bunker around but with that quite a few “false feeds” which are the handiwork of mackerel rather than striped bass! Some anglers are still catching stripers right from the dockage of local marinas. While taking a walk along the beach, Martha spotted a 4” fluke which washed up along the shoreline! During the summer anglers targeting/harvesting fluke also found small fluke in their bellies. Yes, it looks as if fluke are breeding in northern Massachusetts!

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Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

Eddie ofB&A Bait and Tackle Co. in West Boylston said that there have been a few more salmon migrating to spawn upstream in the Quinapoxet and Stillwater Rivers. The Scar Hill section of Wachusett has been a grab bag for species with 3 1/2-4 pound smallies, 18-20” rainbows and slab white perch all being caught. Anglers are taking with them crawlers as well as shiners to handle the diversity of life there. Lakers are no problem no matter where you wet a line but fish over 4 pounds are few and far between. Metallic perch Kastmasters as well as Krocodiles are working well. Just make sure you wear bright coloring while afield, authorities have already allowed hunters into the woods!

Looking for less crowded water with plenty of action? According to Rod from Flagg’s Fly and Tackle in Orange the Connecticut Valley Region just might be it! Lake Mattawa last week was stocked with 18/19” rainbows and it seems as if hardly anyone is fishing for them. Ditto regarding the the Miller River! Lake Rohunta by the boat ramp gave up a 6 pound largemouth which took a shiner recently! There are also some slab crappie there as is the case with North Spectacle Pond! A regular of the latter pond also reported no other anglers to be seen!

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Crowds are often a joy killer and in some cases that applies to bait, where a surplus results in sated striped bass which anglers swear are mocking their offerings. Small soft plastics where there are herring fry are often the antidote. Sometimes the fish are just intended to win but of course there is always the next tide where comeuppance can be achieved. For bass the best bet may be drive-by searches looking for feeds which are fast-paced and unpredictable. Tautog along the South Shore, while not as numerous as Buzzards Bay, are cooperating in the Minot area. After binging along the Westport side of the bay, the tog seemed to have topped off their tank which means that the next tide could get hot. North Shore striper sharpies are cruising Route 127A and keeping binoculars right next to their surf bags while ready for blitzing fish. Freshwater will continue to be an attractive and more reliable alternative with the Connecticut Valley Region reportedly bereft of anglers!