May 25, 2002

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Frank G. Dwyer
May 25, 2002

Last Saturday the alarm started chirping at 4am as planned and as always I shot out of bed with the anticipation of getting on the water and chasing fish. The weather had called for rain, and as I looked out the window in the pre-dawn hours, it appeared the weather folks were accurate this time.

I put on a ½ pot of coffee and struggled to get my rain gear on while listening to the drip of the coffee machine. I filled up a very large cup with ice and coffee, then headed for the car, which of course was pre-loaded with my gear.

Driving towards the marina in the pouring rain to go fishing may sound strange, unless you’ve done it before with success. Once you’ve had a banner day in the rain, it does not seem so strange to be heading out in weather like we had last Saturday. After all, the fish don’t know it’s raining, or at least I don’t think they care!

My ballast, otherwise known as my friend of 20 years Don, was driving up from Watertown for our 5am meeting and I wondered as I drove if he made the trek even after seeing the weather. I should not have doubted Don’s commitment to fishing as his vehicle was already in the marina parking lot, and he was nowhere to be seen. Trudging down the dock, I saw a Don casting off the last section of dock into the Merrimack awaiting my arrival.

Don has been the fishing with me both from shore and the boat for several years, so we both went about preparing the boat and our tackle, with virtually no words spoken. Once we had cast off from the dock, Don was the first to speak and said, “I don’t think the heavy stuff is going to come down for awhile”. We both laughed at the pirated line from the movie Caddie Shack, as the rain and wind continued at a decent clip.

To make a long story short, we had a very memorable four hours of fishing that rainy, windy and generally nasty Saturday morning. Even though the wind and rain intensified during our time on the water, we landed and released somewhere in the vicinity of 100 striped bass, including four fish that were over 30 inches. With 3-foot, wind induced waves rolling over Joppa Flats, we felt at times as if we were fishing miles offshore.

While many folks probably looked out the window on that rainy Saturday and saw a washed out beginning to a weekend, others saw it as a beautiful day. Looks can be deceiving.

***

Fishing has certainly gotten better over the last two weeks. Striped Bass are holding in the typical upriver spots around Carr Island and Deer Island. Anglers’ using soft baits like Sluggos and Bass Assassin’s rigged on small lead heads reported several days of consistent fishing.

Tuesday on the outgoing tide, the river mouth had a huge cloud of diving birds working a large pod of bait, with many large striped bass feeding beneath. I saw bait, fly and spin fishermen all enjoying the frenzied action.

Fishing on the oceanfront has also been quite hot over the last two weeks. Spin fishermen have been having good luck with metal and soft plastic lures as well as the old stand by, the buck-tail jig. Jean from the Parker River National Wildlife Reserve reported that a small portion of beach is available for fishing on the Reserve, accessible from parking lot one. None of the other beaches are open for fishing at this time to protect the 10-12 pairs of Piping Plovers nesting there.

Anglers fishing the river at Plum Island point are also having success, mostly at low tide. This can at times be “combat fishing” as the crowds can be quite large. A fast moving current combined with shoulder to shoulder anglers can lead to many crossed and tangled lines. There’s plenty of shoreline to explore if you find the Point to crowded!

Many fishermen have been wading off Joppa Flats at low tide as the fishing activity has intensified. Fly fishermen have reported success using olive or chartreuse over white fly patterns on fast sinking lines. A word of caution for the uninitiated, wade fishing on the flats can be a blast, but there are many factors to consider when doing so. The sand is quite soft on the flats, it’s important to have tight wading shoes to enable you to pull yourself out of any soft sand. Once the current gets moving, footing can be tricky, so it’s key to be alert at all times. In case you take water over the top of your waders, it’s a good idea to wear a belt to ensure that they don’t fill with water, creating a dangerous situation. The incoming tide and fast moving current can take a fisherman by surprise, so it’s important to know that tides for the day you are fishing.

Liz at Surfland reports that many larger fish have been caught over the last week, including shore caught striped bass weighing 18, 19 and 27 pounds! Liz also agrees that Joppa Flats has been producing nicely for anglers at low tide.

Frenchie at Captain’s Fishing Parties had good news as well, reporting Cod catches in the 20-30 pound range in the past week, with one big boy weighing in at 43 pounds! A 14-pound Haddock was also caught this week. Whole and half day trips are now running daily.

May 11, 2002

Solitary, Relaxing and Soothing, but not always!

Frank G. Dwyer
May 11, 2002

Often when someone thinks of fishing, an image comes to mind of a solitary fisherman waist deep in water, man against fish in nature. While this may be true sometimes, and I certainly fish as part of a relaxation and stress relief regiment, fishing can be quite fast paced, unpredictable and sometimes quite hair-raising.

Night fishing can be a very relaxing proposition, but can also be the source for terrific fish tales. Surfcasting on the beach, under a canopy of stars can be just the ticket for a relaxing commune with nature, but it can also be a heart racing experience. Take for example a trip my wife (hereon known as Tami) and I took to Martha’s Vineyard several years ago. We were lucky enough to be out Striper fishing with a well-known island guide, Cooper Gilkes III, when we came across a gentleman on the beach fighting what appeared to be a monstrous fish. “He’s on a shark”, Coop said, as we pulled closer and watched for a half-hour as the man fought with the fish on the other end of his line. Finally, he slowly backed up the beach eventually displaying the 85lb Brown shark he had been fighting.

The next day, we were back at Coop’s shop buying shark fishing gear and taking the free advice Coop was providing. We 4x4’d out to the same spot on East Beach on Chappiquidick where we had seen the shark caught the previous evening, and set up shop. Remembering Coop’s advice, we buried our sand spikes (tubes of PVC, to slip your rod into) deep in the sand, rigged up an eel with a 6-ounce weight and heaved it into the churning ocean. I repeated the process with Tami’s rod, and we began the familiar process of watching the tip of the rod bounce in rhythm with the waves.

In less than five minutes, my rod tip curled over violently and my line began to peel off the reel. I pulled the rod out of the spike and began what ended up being a 45-minute fight with a 70lb Brown shark. I would gain line and think the end was near, only to have the shark run again, peeling away all the line I had just reeled in. Just as I was starting to question what I was going to do when I got this fish on the beach, I saw Coop’s familiar truck heading down the beach towards us with another group of customers. They stopped when they saw me fighting the fish—just as we had done the night before—and lucky for me it was about the time I had gotten the fish to shore. Coop gave me a hand releasing the shark, and also snapped a picture for me. He then left with his customers for an evening of fishing.

As he was pulling away, Tami’s reel began to sing, and she too had a shark fight on her hands. Her fight lasted just about as long as mine, but the shark appeared to burrow into the sand at one point, and the line snapped. It still amazes me to this day that those sharks were well within casting distance from the beach. It was certainly one of my favorite surfcasting experiences and really got the heart pumping.

***
Fish have begun to make appearances around the Port in the typical early-season haunts. Shad are being caught at Rocks Village in West Newbury by both shore and boat fishermen. Shad darts are the typical lure of choice. There have also been reports of few stripers being caught at Rocks Village as well.

Reports also have striped bass being caught near and around Deer Island, but that could be a tough fishing spot as the Chain Bridge closure may put a damper on things, or at the very least make for a longer walk for shore anglers.

Anglers wading off Joppa Flats over the last few days have reported mild success at low tide with schoolie striped bass biting on both fly and spin offerings from area fishermen. Clouser Minnows and Lefty’s Deceivers in Chartreuse and White or Olive and White work well for fly fishermen. Soft plastics and small metal lures are working well for spin fishermen.

Bass have also been taken on Plum Island, both on the ocean front and in the river, however the fishing over the last week was still of the early season variety with finding fish being a hit or miss activity, from both shore and boat.

Martha at Surfland reports that fish are starting to appear in more numbers. Bait anglers using clams and sea worms have had success at Plum Island Point at low tide, and although no keepers have been weighed in and photographed for Surfland’s famous wall of pictures, rumors abound of legal sized keepers having been caught. (In Massachusetts, recreational fishermen may have 1 striped bass in possession per day with a 28" minimum length limit)

Ryan at Captain’s Fishing Parties on Plum Island reports that they are running daily trips aboard the Captain’s Lady on Monday, Wednesday and Friday as well as Saturday and Sunday. Half-day trips will start soon, and boats will run seven days a week starting in June. Cod, Haddock and even early season Pollock have been caught this year. Ryan reports Haddock in the 9 to 12 pound range and Cod in the mid-twenty pound range.

The seal herd in the Merrimack is quite large this year and they seemed to having a grand old time corralling fish for dinner when I was down there a few evenings ago.
The river has changed once again this year, so those of you who enjoy wading out on the sandbar be sure to check things out at low tide to survey the new terrain.
Fishing will only get better from here on, so get out there and fish!