Massachusetts Fishing Report - September 24, 2015

A slug of pogies, yes pogies, have apparently been blown into bays thanks to the incessant nor’east blow. Those who are snagging and shadowing the schools of pogies are having no problem extracting 25-pound bass from the bunch. While stripers are no surprise come late September, other current catches, ranging from jacks to North Shore bonito to even mahi mahi, certainly qualify.

Massachusetts South Shore/South Coast

Short of a canyon run, the last fish I’d ever expect to train my camera lens on in Massachusetts is a mahi mahi. That all changed last week when, acting on a tip, Captain Jason Colby and crew steamed out of Westport for a walk on the wild side. The anticipated quarry was a real odd couple if there ever was one. We pinned our hopes on cod and mahi mahi!

Ironically, the prospects of catching cod off the “cod state” are almost as realistic as hoping to catch the tropical mahi mahi. The cod we struck out on, but we did have lock-and-load action with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Jumbo black sea bass (all caught and released) were more than willing, as were some of the biggest female dogfish I’ve seen in a while. The mahi mahi action was textbook! Cognizant that they tend to congregate around flotsam of any kind, the first high-flier lobster trap buoy we saw we drew a bead on and boom, we were on to acrobatic, colorful mahi mahi – incredible! These fish are aggressive and will hit all manner of baitfish imitators worked aggressively. You can even troll by high fliers or other surface debris and expect a hook-up. It’s difficult to do, but if the first guy who hooks up resists the temptation to haul his fish in, then his mates stand a better chance of hooking up as well. Other mahi mahi will swarm around a hooked schoolmate. It’s a weird wacky world out there, with reports of jacks and even cobia off Massachusetts; now if we can only count on cod!

There are also pogies throughout Westport and Captain Colby is finding 25-pound stripers prowling around the schools. And, Thursday morning he found a 20-fish pile of sub-legal tautog. As temps drop, the white chins will begin schooling up.

September evens the playing field for the surf fishermen, and the ones who do best are slinging those serpents between dusk and dawn. Eels continue to be the ticket to a tight line according to Pete from Belsans in Scituate. He’s getting good news from Fourth Cliff, the North and South rivers, The Glades, and Minot and Black Rock Beach in Cohasset. Try the higher tides, which dovetail nicely with the evenings for the foreseeable future. I’m very partial to bridges of any sort during the two-hour window near the top of the tide. Keep your eels lively and make sure they go “splat” when you cast them: to a striper, that’s the sound of the dinner bell! A couple of porbeagles and makos were caught recently near Stellwagen by some of the Scituate Harbor Charter Captain contingent. Troll up a bluefish and have at it between Stellwagen Bank and Wildcat Knoll.

Greater Boston Fishing Report

If you’ve had little to show for your efforts this season except schoolies (and the shenanigans from the fleet as they chase every bird they see), then you may find a different experience this weekend. Namely fewer boats and more pogies! The pogies could be put into the “better late than never” category. The rub in recent years has been that pogies are no longer the magic bullet they once were. Not all that long ago, finding a pogy school anywhere near Boston Harbor was the fishing version of a winning scratch ticket. But with fewer big bass in the fishery, that has not necessarily been the case. But not now, not in September! The reports I’ve received are telling of big bass with the pogies. In fact, one angler claimed that retrieved pogies would have a handful of 20-pound-plus stripers in tow! It is important, however, to keep your hooked pogy near the school as stripers in September will not wander far from the baitfish.

According to Lisa from Fore River Bait & Tackle, fishing Nut Island is like opening up a Cracker Jack Box – you never know what prize you’ll find. Squid, flounder, stripers and smelt have all been caught there recently. Some are live-lining the squid and catching bass at the pier. Optimism is the operative word for smelt this year! There seems to be more at this stage of the season than the previous woeful two! Hull, Hingham Harbor, Hewitts Cove have all been productive and limits have been reached! Big blues have been crushing plugs between the North Channel and Nahant. My buddy Dave Flaherty from Nahant caught a 36” balloon bluefish on a blue Rapala X-Rap that weighed 18 pounds on his Bogagrip! In addition to this, he took several keeper bass. The key, according to Dave, when the surf is up is to work plugs that dive deeply enough to stay just below the roiled surface and remain true right to the shore. Rapala’s X-Rap is tops on that list and its toothy-tuff as well!

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

Matt from Capefish Outfitters said that the mackerel in Salem Sound are so big, fly fishermen/light spin fishermen should consider targeting them! Salem Willows has been steady and you may even find some off the Beverly Pier. The ubiquitous schoolies throughout Salem and Beverly are showing no signs of going anywhere as of yet. If you’d prefer putting a bead on blues, try trolling them up ocean-side of the islands. Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle said that the incessant east wind has driven bait, blues and bass up against rocky shorelines from Nahant through Swampscott and into Cape Ann. The Tomo “tip of the week” is to employ something that gets noticed against in the teeth of the washed-up shorelines. Yellow/black SP Minnows and hot tiger Crystal Minnow magnums have been catching bass and blues. Customers are snapping up eels and fishing the where the Essex River meets Cranes Beach. Mum’s the word from this cadre about the catching, however!

Skip from Three Lantern Marine said that tuna have moved off middle bank and are feeding on herring at Southern Jeffreys Ledge. Flounder have been found in solid numbers inside of the Dogbar Breakwater. Look for them also in Manchester Harbor, Singing Beach and Niles Beach. The Gloucester striper action has been hottest just outside of The Groaner. As usual, mackerel are magic, but you may have to poke around until you find them. Nothing beats a good chum slick, and in that slick may cruise something unusual such as – bonito! Yes, anglers have been jigging up small bonito at the end of their Sabiki rigs. It might not be a bad idea to keep on the lookout for pogies since the east wind has blown them into many more southern environs in Mass Bay. Another consideration is smelt, which for some unforeseen reason are in far better shape just south of Boston than at this stage over the last few seasons.

Finally some life in the Plum Island area, according to Craig from Surfland. Proof came in the form of an angler pleading for sturdy, orange trolling plugs that can withstand the force of the 15 – 20 pound blues he’s been into at the mouth of the Merrimack River! The guy left with as many orange/gold Rapala CD18s as he could hold. The bass fishing is best on the southern end of the island by the Parking Lot 7/Sandy Point/Emerson Rocks area.

Fishing Forecast

Tog are beginning to crunch crabs on the Westport side of Buzzards Bay. Eels are the key to stripers among the rivers and beaches of Scituate. If you’re in the harbor this weekend, you may see a sight for sore eyes – namely, pogies! Snag and drop and then hold on! Big blues are the big news on the North Shore with orange CD18s crushing them for the boat guys while X-Raps are proving something extraordinary for the surfcaster.