Fish Finder – 5/27/2004

Frank G. Dwyer
May 27, 2004


Marblehead: Marblehead Harbor has been producing striped bass for boat anglers and while the big fish have not shown in numbers, that should happen very soon. Castle Rock on Marblehead Neck has also been producing numbers of striped bass.

Salem: The Danvers River has been producing steady striped bass action on moving tides over the last week. Fly anglers tossing clouser minnow and deceiver patterns on sinking lines have been hooking up on a regular basis. Rubber shad and small metal lures have also been picking up fish. White Fuel Bridge has also been decent for spin anglers.

Beverly: Beverly Harbor and West Beach have both been choked with bait and hungry stripers. West Beach in particular has been hot over the past week with bait, birds and busting stripers. These fish were taking most any lure offered, but top water plugs and fast stripped herring flies seemed most popular. Kernwood Bridge and Ober Park are good spots to try as well.

Cape Ann: Large schools of mackerel and herring have been reported off shore this week and hopefully those schools will move closer to shore with bigger striped bass following them. Herring/Mackerel imitations as well as live or cut bait should both work well around Cape Ann. The start of the incoming tide on the Ipswich Bay side of the Annisquam River has also been a good spot for both shore and boat anglers. The Essex River is also producing nice numbers of striped bass. Singing Beach has been a hit for surfcasters in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Party boats report good numbers of Cod and Haddock on most trips.

Ipswich: Crane Beach and Pavillion Beach have both begun to heat up for anglers from shore. Bass feeding on the surface have been reported from both beaches over the last week and anglers using both fly and spin gear have done well.

Newbury: The Parker River at the Route 1A Bridge has produced nice numbers of bass on the incoming tide and the first part of the outgoing tide. Fly anglers are having luck with clousers, deceivers and crease fly’s, while spin anglers tossing both top water plugs and swimming lures have done well. The Plum Island Sound has also been home to several frenzied bass blitzes.

Newburyport / Plum Island: Fishing around Newburyport has picked up nicely over the last week. While big striped bass are still the exception, bigger fish should be moving in daily. The front beach has produced many striped bass for both spin and fly fishermen, while the ever popular Plum Island Point continues to produce fish for anglers using both artificials as well as bait. Clams and Sea worms are the bait of choice here. Joppa Flats continues to please both wade and boat fishermen on the outgoing tide. Charter trips have been returning with good numbers of Cod and Haddock, as well as a few Wolfish and Cusk.

Salisbury: Anglers fishing the Salsibury side off of Joppa Flats as well as the State Reservation have been doing well catching numbers of Striped Bass. Just as it is across the river, large fish are still not the norm, but things are certainly picking up. Boat anglers anchoring by the Toothpick and Badger Rocks have been doing well drifting clams.

Seacoast, NH: Seabrook, Rye and Hampton have all seen fishing improve over the last week. The Hampton River and the surrounding marshes have begun to fill in with striped bass. Hampton and Seabrook Harbor have also seen increasing schoolie action. Larger fish should make their way to these northern waters in the next few weeks.

Memorial Day Weekend Should Produce Larger Fish

Frank G. Dwyer
May 26, 2004

This past weekend I had two very different fishing trips in two days.

Saturday began with a cold, windy and rainy trip that ended early with few fish and two very wet anglers. The temperature on Joppa Flats was in the high 40’s with a steady chop in the early dawn hours. We managed some five striped bass in three hours, with the largest hitting the tape measure at 24 inches. All fish were landed on fly rods with fast sinking lines and herring imitation flies.

At 3AM on Sunday morning I was stirred from sleep by passing thunderstorms accompanied by brilliant lightning. I was thinking fishing in an hour and half might not be happening, but luckily that was not the case.

I was on the water by 5 AM, and as I passed under the Route 1 Bridge heading towards the mouth of the river, I was pleasantly surprised at how calm it was, especially when compared to the day before. The tide was outgoing at a good clip and it appeared to be a great day to drift the edge of Joppa Flats.

Appearances turned to reality as the boat eased under the Route 1 Bridge. Fish were actively feeding on the top from just under the bridge, all the way out to the Ice Breaker. I have been known to get frustrated with the fly rod and switching to spinning gear if the fly rod does not produce quickly enough for my taste. No worries on this morning as the first cast with the long wand, and many after that, produced fish.

Once I cleared the Ice Breaker, I motored to the edge of the channel and enjoyed many drifts on the fast moving outgoing current. Numerous fish were landed on each drift, with two fish over 30 inches landed. Hopefully bigger fish will soon start to become the rule and not the exception.

Sinking lines with olive and white clousers, and grey and white deceivers all worked well. Fast, one-handed stripping of the fly line seemed to work best, however this worked best after a 5-count to let the line sink a bit.

Mid-week brought more of the same as fish stayed up on Joppa Flats during high tide and for most of the outgoing tide. Once again drifting towards the mouth of the river, a sinking line and herring imitation fly provided hours of entertainment as striped bass devoured most flies offered to them.

***
When I visited with Kay Moulton at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island this past Wednesday, she said many anglers were having success at Plum Island Point on clams as well as buck tail jigs and sluggo type plastics.

The ocean front continued to produce fish and anglers using any number of methods have caught fish along the entire front beach. Kay said that while she’s selling lots of bait, there’s really no reason to use it this early in the season since most lures and flies will produce fish while the striped bass continue their spring feeding frenzy.

Top water lures are also attracting stripers and that can create surface strikes that are quite something to witness. Kay suggests both Stillwater and Creek Chub top water plugs, and I can attest that they were both working well this past Wednesday out on Joppa Flats

***

Nat at First Light Anglers on Main Street in Rowley reported excellent fishing up and down the coast. The river systems from the Annisquam to the Parker Rivers are all producing nice fish for both spin and fly anglers.

The morning outgoing tide at Crane’s Beach has produced some large fish mixed in with the smaller striped bass, with several mornings providing surface feeding bass.

Large schools of herring and mackerel have moved in off Cape Ann and there is hope that the somewhat slower paced fishing from Beverly to Gloucester will pick up very soon.

***
George at Captains Fishing Parties on Plum Island reports good cod and haddock fishing, with pool fish weighing from 16 to 30 pounds over the last week. Wolfish and cusk have also been caught on trips during the last week.

Daily trips will resume on Memorial Day weekend and run throughout the summer. It’s not a bad idea to make a reservation as the boats can fill up quickly. To do so, call 1-800-427-1333.

Just in Time, the Fish have Arrived in the Port

Frank G. Dwyer
May 19, 2004

While the fish have been resident in force around the Cape and Islands as well as the south shore for sometime now, our saltwater season here has really just started to get underway. School striped bass have been reported to have been caught in the Essex and Parker rivers, as well as the Merrimack this past week and with the warm weather heading our way, fishing in the Merrimack and other fishing haunts around the Port should bust wide open any day.

Earlier this past week found fish just above the Route 1 Bridge, right up to the Point Shores area. While the fish were not thick, they were spread over a wide area enjoying the warmer up-river waters. The windier days had the fish hugging the banks of the river and an offering of an albino sluggo on a small lead head seemed to be the preferred meal.

Mid-week, the fish were not quite as hungry up river so I tried my luck drifting the Joppa Flats area as well as the waters just off the basin on the outgoing tide. I picked up several small striped bass on each drift and on these mornings the fly rod out-fished the spinning gear by a 2 to 1 margin. Clouser Minnows in chartreuse and green as well as deceivers and small sand eel patterns all worked well, with most fish hitting the fly on the “drop back”.

Surfcasting along the ocean front has also yielded fish over the last week, with fish being caught from Atty. May’s all the way to the South Jetty. Metal and top-water lures as well as buck-tail jigs all proved worthy of catching fish.

***
When I visited Kay Moulton at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island this past Tuesday, she already had three “keepers” up on her photo board. One lucky angler scored a 24 lb. bass on the incoming tide on the ocean front.

Kay reports that shore fishermen have been doing well in the river at Plum Island point using worms and clams as well as artificial lures, with buck-tail jigs working best. The bottom half of the outgoing tide seems to be the best time at this spot.

Fly and Spin anglers wading on Joppa Flats have had success of late with top water lures from sliders to poppers. The aggressive spring schoolies are knocking them clean out of the water on some hits!

Surfland is open from 6am to 8pm weekdays and 5am to 8pm on weekends.

***
Nat Moody and Derek Springer, proprietors of First Light Anglers, have moved their store from Manchester-by-the-Sea to Main Street in Rowley. This is a good thing for Port area anglers, especially fly fishermen.

Nat and Derek are experienced fishermen who beyond providing a great store to shop in for all your fly fishing needs, are excellent fishing guides offering both shore and boat trips. In addition, they offer tuna charters come the fall, which is a real blast on the fly or light spinning tackle.

Derek reported good fishing in the Essex and Parker River as well as down by Crane’s Beach.

***
If you’d prefer some deep sea fishing, George at Captains Fishing Parties on Plum Island reports good Cod and Haddock fishing with the first mackerel trip scheduled for this coming Saturday.

Pool fish have weighed from a modest 13 pound wolfish to a hefty 42 pound cod caught last week. Plenty of market sized fish have been caught on each trip.

The trips run Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through May and move to a full seven day schedule come June. Night trips will also resume in June.