June 24, 2004

Fish Finder – 6/24/2004

Frank Dwyer
June 24, 2004

Marblehead: Mackerel have become more scarce, but anglers fishing with live or dead ones have done well off Marblehead, and in and around the islands. Bluefish have been present, but not in large numbers. Flounder fishing just outside the harbor has been good.

Salem: Striped Bass fishing in the Danvers River remains steady with bait anglers out fishing all others at this point. Worms and clams are the preferred meal for these hungry fish. Fishing the harbor and just outside has been good for flounder. Tubes trolled off Bakers Island have done well for bass.

Beverly: Fishing continues to be decent off Beverly. Reports had bass feeding on herring outside Beverly Harbor during the past week. In addition, flounder fishing has improved for those targeting them, and even those who aren’t. I had a friend dredge up a 3 pound flounder on a fly he was dragging along the bottom. The Kernwood Bridge is also pleasing anglers with bait and jigs as is the base of the Beverly/Salem Bridge.Beverly beaches have been slow, but anglers fishing at night have reported success.

Cape Ann: Singing Beach, in Manchester-by-the-Sea has been home to some excellent bass fishing, especially at night. Sea worms seem to be the most popular bait, drifted on a fish finder rig. Fly anglers have also done well, picking up school bass in the wash. Fishing the rocks around Magnolia and Gloucester picked up for several days, but seems to have cooled again, however anglers are still reporting good catches on both bait and lures. Anglers fishing off Halibut Point reported bass into the 20-pound range, with live bait working best. Stripers have not been as steady in the Essex River, but are still present, as well as bluefish.

Ipswich: Fishing in Ipswich has also been somewhat spotty, however there have been some fish in the rivers. Cranes, Steep Hill and Pavilion beach have continued to produce fish from shore bound anglers, however not in steady numbers. Bluefish have been caught in Plum Island Sound as well as at the mouth of the Ipswich River.

Newbury: The Parker River has been fishing well at night and has been home to both bass and bluefish in the past week. The Parker River NWR beaches remain closed for nesting Piping Plover’s.

Newburyport / Plum Island: Bigger fish are in, but you’ll need to put in the time. The fish are in and getting bigger and big bass are being landed in the Merrimack from the Lawrence Dam all the way to the mouth at Plum Island. Fly anglers on Joppa Flats are doing well with large (5-9”s) fly’s imitating bait fish. Sand eel imitations also do well. Anglers fishing the mouth have done well with live mackerel, which are still plentiful out by Breaking Rocks. The ocean front on Plum Island has been home to numerous bass blitzes over the past week with spin anglers landing good sized bass on popping plugs and metal (Kastmaster, Hopkins) lures. Bait anglers fishing off Deer Island (Chain Bridge) have done well with worms and cut bait. Bluefish are spotty, but party boats still reporting good Cod, Haddock and Pollock action.

Salisbury: The ocean front has produced some larger fish for bait anglers fishing with worms and clams. I fished the Salisbury Reservation side of the river for a change last week and landed several small stripers on bucktail jigs, however I did see two keepers being walked off the beach. Bait anglers continue to do well, with most sticking to worms and clams.

Seacoast, NH: Seabrook, Rye and Hampton have all seen their share of good fishing over the last week. I heard about a nice surface feed off Rye at sunset last week, with bass and blues in the mix. Boat anglers have done well in the Piscataqua River over the past week, with many keeper sized bass being landed. Fly anglers do best with large flies presented on a fast sinking line. Spin fishermen have done well with sluggos, broken-back swimming lures and poppers. Bluefish and Bass are still available in numbers offshore at the Isle of Shoals.

June 17, 2004

Fish Finder – 6/17/2004

Frank Dwyer
June 17, 2004

Marblehead: Mackerel seem to be a bit spotty but striped bass action continues to be good for those willing to put in the time. Beaches continue to produce for both bait and lure anglers, with bluefish showing up more and more. Night fishing will soon be the rule for big bass, but that’s the name of the game in the summer! Try an eel in the rocks and hold on!

Salem: Flounder fishing continues to please anglers with many catching their limit. A few bluefish have been reported in the Danvers River, while striped bass fishing remains somewhat steady. Salem Harbor has been home to many pods of stripers but unfortunately, most have been small. Mackerel have spread out a bit but anglers using large bait fish imitations are still landing nice fish. Reports from the Bass and North Rivers had good schoolie action with a few big ones mixed in.

Beverly: Bluefish action has increased while bass have become harder to find, but certainly not impossible. Anglers fishing off West Beach have reported decent striper activity as have anglers fishing Beverly Harbor. While mackerel have been spotty, anglers have still been using them as bait with success. Fly rod anglers have started to break out the floating lines to entice surface feeding bass.

Cape Ann: Boat anglers fishing off Manchester-by-the-Sea have done well with live mackerel as well as cut bait, landing some big bass. Anglers fishing off Magnolia as well as Halibut Point have done well with both live and cut bait. Depths to 120 feet have produced some bass in the 30 pound range. Bluefish are also being caught off Halibut Point. Mackerel have been somewhat scarce around the Cape, but Pollock have been showing up in bigger numbers. Reports also have bluefish in the Essex River as well as some decent sized striped bass, with several reports of good surface feeding activity over the last week. Dogfish are here, but Cod, Haddock and Pollack fishing is still pleasing party boat patrons.

Ipswich: I fished from a boat off Cranes Beach this past weekend and landed several nice bass on clam strips. On the ride over from Newburyport, we scared a few pods of fish lounging in the sun in Plum Island Sound, but these fish had no interest in any lures or flies we offered. Shore anglers reported spotty action; however some nice bass have come from Pavilion, Steep Hill and Crane Beaches. Bluefish are also in the mix here. The Ipswich River has been fishing well at dawn, dusk and night.

Newbury: Bluefish in the Parker River pleased several anglers over the last week. As usual, these choppers will pretty take anything you offer, but certainly poppers and metal lures top many anglers lists. Bass action in the Parker, while not quite predictable, has offered up keeper size bass over the last week.

Newburyport / Plum Island: Newburyport continues to offer good fishing, however “night time may be the right time” soon. Drifting the flats this past weekend saw several bass landed, but the action was not quite as fast and furious as weeks past. Larger flies on sinking lines were still the most productive set up with our crew, while sluggos on lead heads also produced. Bluefish have arrived as well, and anglers on Joppa Flats, the ocean front and at the mouth of the Merrimack have reported choppers in the 2-4 pound range. Fly anglers continue to cast away off the sand bar on Plum Island Point for steady schoolie action. Flounder catches are on the increase for those targeting them and Cod, Haddock and Pollock fishing has remained strong.

Salisbury: The riverbank at the State Reservation was lined with anglers this past weekend, most with rod in spike and bait on the bottom. Sea worms, clams, herring and mackerel have all been producing, mostly on the end of the outgoing and beginning of the incoming tide.

Seacoast, NH: Hampton Harbor, and the rivers and marshes around Hampton have seen the bass action slow, but it’s certainly not dead. Fly anglers reported catching sub-legal striped bass in the marsh/estuary; however the action is not as fast and furious in weeks past. Further up the coast, the Piscataqua River, Dover Point and Little Bay all have had excellent striper activity. Off shore, the Isle of Shoals has produced bass into the 30 pound range.

June 10, 2004

Fish Finder – 6/10/2004

Frank Dwyer
June 10, 2004

Marblehead: Mackerel are in thick and fishing the rocky beach line has proven quite productive for striped bass fishermen. Fly anglers do well with fast sinking lines when dropping their fly into the turbulent water. Riverhead and Devereux Beach continue to produce stripers for both spin and fly anglers. While larger fish have been caught, mid-sized schoolies seem most active. Castle Rock on the Neck has also been home to numbers of bass.

Salem: Both the North and Bass Rivers have been fishing well over the last week with both spin and fly anglers reporting decent numbers of bass. The Danvers River has done well for anglers offering swimming shad plastics. Salem Harbor has seen steady mackerel activity with bass in pursuit. Flounder fishing has been consistent with many anglers catching their limit. A few bluefish have also have been reported to have been caught. Cod and Haddock remain plentiful off shore.

Beverly: Beverly Harbor and the beaches have seen good fishing continue as many anglers have landed legal sized bass. Swimming plugs, shad imitation’s and popping plugs all produce fish. Kernwood Bridge and Ober Park continue to be fishy locations for both bait and artificial anglers. Flounder continue to be caught in numbers.

Cape Ann: Manchester-by-the-Sea beaches continue to produce for shore bound anglers. Clousers, Deceivers and Herring pattern flies all do well on sinking lines for fly fishermen. Popping plugs and broken back swimming lures have done well for spin fishermen. The incoming tide on the Annisquam River continued to fish well as did the rocky shoreline in Magnolia. The Essex River continues to fish well, with some decent sized bass showing up. Cod, Haddock and Pollack reports have been good from the party boats.

Ipswich: Crane Beach and Steep Hill Beach continue to offer consistent fishing for striped bass, with most fish in the sub-legal class. Boat anglers fishing at the mouth of the Ipswich River report good fishing on the outgoing tide. Pavillion Beach also continues to be a good option for shore anglers. A few bluefish are in the mix as well. Anglers off shore in deeper water have done well live-lining mackerel for some bigger bass.

Newbury: The Parker River continued to produce striped bass this past week. Boat anglers fishing in the river and Plum Island Sound have reported excellent striped bass activity. Sluggos offered with little or no weight entice surface feeding bass nicely. A little twitch of the rod tip and hold on!

Newburyport / Plum Island: Good fishing continues in the Newburyport area as some bigger fish have moved into the river and along the ocean front with a few 30 pound bass being landed. Large sand eels were present on Joppa Flats most of the week, with striped bass following them and enjoying the feast. Sluggos have been producing very well. Bait anglers have done well anchored just off the channel near the Toothpick. Clams, cut bait and worms all do well. Don’t anchor IN the channel! Upriver, shore anglers fishing Deer Island and other accessible areas have landed stripers to twenty pounds. Mackerel are thick at Breaking Rocks and have made a few appearances at the mouth of the Merrimack. Flounder have also begun to show just outside the river and reports of a few sporadic bluefish have begun to pop up.

Salisbury: Surfcasters patrolling the Salisbury Beach ocean front have reported a few surface feeds over the last week with striped bass taking anything offered during the frenzy. Top water plugs set off the most aggressive hits. Anglers fishing the river from the State Reservation have done well drifting worms with numbers of bass over 28 inches being landed.

Seacoast, NH: Beaches from Seabrook to Hampton have reported good numbers of school striped bass being landed. Estuaries and river systems are all producing good numbers of bass for all who care to wet a line. Large fish have begun to become more prevalent and that should only improve as the water warms.

June 9, 2004

Angler Update

Frank Dwyer
June 9, 2004

Port area fishing continues to improve however there have been some dry spells reported over the last week.

The Plum Island Point crowd continues to fish the mouth of the Merrimack and as usual the tides around the low produce best. Many keeper sized bass have come from the Point and both bait and artificial fishermen have done well. Clams, worms and cut bait on fish-finder rigs have worked well as have shad and herring imitation lures. Storm Wild Eye swim baits seem to be the rage this year, and I can see why having landed many stripers over the last few weeks with them. Fly fishermen are doing well off the sand bar with fast sinking lines and sparsely tied herring and sand eel imitations.

Surfcasters along the front beach on Plum Island have done well from the edge of the NWR all the way to the south jetty. Buck tail jigs and large shad imitations bounced on the bottom have produced nice fish, right up into the wash.

Boat fishermen have been plentiful from Badger Rocks to the Toothpick, with most anchoring just off the channel and drifting clams, worms or cut bait and landing decent sized fish. Unfortunately, some anglers anchor IN the channel, which is quite dangerous and not all that smart. Most of these anglers get the hint when a party boat goes by closely leaving a 5-foot wake in its path. Please don’t anchor in the channel.

Joppa Flats continues to produce numbers of striped bass for boat and wade fishermen. As at the Point, fly anglers do best with fast sinking lines and sand eel or herring imitations. Spin anglers using sluggos with light or no weight have done well on surface feeding bass. Top water plugs have also produced this past week. Try using a larger plug or fly to weed out the small guys!

Upriver, Deer Island has seen increasing fishing pressure over the last weeks as more fish have been landed by shore-bound anglers. Fishing near Eagle and Carr Islands has also been productive, but mostly for sub-legal bass. Rocks Village continues to produce good numbers of shad, with not too many fishermen targeting them.

***
Kay Moulton at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island reports good numbers of striped bass with some 30 pound fish being taken. Anglers do well at Plum Island Point on the bottom of the outgoing tide and beginning of the incoming tide.

Flounder have begun to appear with a few anglers landing several on worms. Kay reported a few bluefish catches over the last week, including a 10 pound chopper that was landed on Joppa Flats.

***

Nat at First Light Anglers on Main Street in Rowley reported decent fishing from Swampscott to Plum Island. According to Nat, “nothing outrageous”, but plenty of school sized bass being landed up in the rocks and in the rivers.

Nat also mentioned that mackerel have been hanging around the mouth of both the Essex and Ipswich rivers, but have been dispersing at times with no rhyme or reason. Fishing on Joppa Flats has been good, but you’ll have plenty of company so consider a location more off the beaten path.

***
Chris at Captains Fishing Parties on Plum Island reported good Cod and Haddock fishing over the last week on the full day trips with average pool fish in the 20 pound class; however a nice 38 pound cod was also landed. A few Pollock have also been landed on each trip, with a mix of Cusk and Wolfish. Dogfish have been tolerable. The full day boat leaves daily at 7:30 AM.

The half day boats leaving at 8:30 AM have done well fishing for Mackerel and have also been landing a few striped bass on each trip. Call 800-427-1333 for information or to make reservations.

***
The Plum Island Surfcasters monthly meeting on Tuesday June 15 will feature Ed Nowak of The Fisherman Magazine. His presentation, entitled “Fishing from Choice Launching Sites from Boston to Plum Island” should draw a large crowd.

The Plum Island Surfcasters is a club of about 250 recreational anglers. Club meetings are held every 3rd Tuesday of the month at the Newbury Fire Hall behind Newbury Town Hall. Doors open at 6:30 PM. with the meeting beginning at 7:30 PM.

If your interested in becoming a member, visit http://www.surfcaster.com/ or email me for information.

June 3, 2004

Fish Finder – 6/3/2004

Frank G. Dwyer
June 3, 2004

Marblehead: The Lead Mills Bridge area has fished well over the last week. Both bait and artificials have worked well on the moving tides. Reports from Devereaux Beach have also been good with both fly and spin anglers doing well. Large herring pattern flies do well, especially in the wind we’ve had over the last week.

Salem: Salem Harbor and the Danvers River continued to produce numbers of striped bass. Like most of the North Shore, mackerel are now readily available in the waters around Salem. Salem Willow Pier has been fishing well for mackerel with anglers using herring rigs and mackerel trees. Fish have also been to reported to be active in the North River.

Beverly: Striped Bass fishing continues to be good around Beverly. In addition, shore and boat fishermen have reported decent numbers of flounder being caught. These flatties enjoy the blood and sea worms that bait anglers have been tossing them. Clam strips are also popular bait. A small float on your line goes a long way in avoiding skates.

Cape Ann: Those large schools of mackerel and herring have made there way inshore and the bass have followed. Rockport and Manchester have reports of nice surface activity in the harbor and just off the beaches. Anglers fishing Singing Beach landed stripers and mackerel. Top Water plugs and gurgler flies have been taking nice bass. The Essex and Annisquam Rivers continue to have large numbers of striped bass, mostly in the 18” – 26” range. Shore Road in Magnolia has also had bass activity over the last week. Boat anglers off Halibut Point have done quite well in 90-120 feet of water with live mackerel. Cod and Haddock fishing continues to please both the party boat patrons and those recreational anglers who target them.

Ipswich: Pavillion and Steep Hill Beach were productive spots for anglers this past week. Several schools of fish were seen feeding on large sand eels, pushing them right up on to the beach. Fly anglers with sand eel imitations as well as larger streamer flies reported taken numbers of striped bass to 30 inches.

Newbury: Plum Island Sound continued to produce striped bass in numbers over Memorial Day weekend. Larger fish were landed this week as anglers increased the size of their bait and lures to weed out the smaller fish. The big fish should only continue to grow in numbers over the next few weeks. The Parker River continued to fish well for both shore and boat anglers, however larger fish are still the exception.

Newburyport / Plum Island: Herring and mackerel have both arrived in the Port and I personally followed several pods of striped bass on Joppa Flats over Memorial Day as they feasted on herring on the incoming tide. Larger fish are present now, with the largest on my watch going 13 lbs and 34 inches. Word from both the beach front and the river at Plum Island Point are that larger fish have also been landed over the past week. Fly rod anglers have been doing well on the sand bar at the mouth of the Merrimack River during the end of the outgoing and beginning of the incoming tide. While the Parker River NWR remains closed to anglers, there have been reports of fish being taken at Sandy Point. Cod and Haddock party boats are reporting good market sized fish with only a few dogfish starting to show up.

Salisbury: The river front at the State Reservation in Salisbury continued to produce nice numbers of striped bass over the past week. Anglers drifting sea-worms on a fish-finder rig have been doing well, as have those using cut bait and clams. I even spoke to one angler who landed numerous schoolies on a 3oz. Kastmaster lure, so it appears that you can add metal to your bag of tricks. The Salisbury ocean front has also been producing fish.

Seacoast, NH: Seabrook, Rye and Hampton have all seen fishing improve over the last week. Fish have been reported in the Taylor and Blackwater Rivers as well as Hampton Harbor. Surfcasters using cut bait (mackerel or herring) have done well along the Seacoast beaches on incoming tides.