Fishing Continues to Improve

Frank G. Dwyer
Publication Date: June 12, 2009


Fishing continues to improve on the North Shore as ocean temperatures continue to climb and bait has an increased presence in our waters.

Flounder, Cod, Haddock and Striped Bass are all readily available and the bluefish will be around for you to target soon.

Marblehead: (4 hooks) Fishing around the Neck has been great for bass this past week. Large plugs, cut bait and worms, as well as dual colored flies on sinking lines. I’ve found that olive and White to be the best pattern over the last week. Greystone Beach has been fishing well with bait, soft plastics, bucktail jigs and Danny Plugs.

Salem: (4 hooks) Mackerel and Pollock have been in and just outside the Harbor as well as throughout Salem Sound. Bass are chasing larger plugs and tube and worm rigs, but the big fish are being taken on live lined bait. There is no shortage of Flounder off the Salem coast.

Beverly: (4 hooks) Kayak fishermen report good fishing around the islands as well as around any rocky formations. False dawn has found bass hitting topwater plugs while fishing with bait from the pier has been good. Fishing the Danvers near Kernwood has been heating up.

Cape Ann: (4 hooks) Plenty of bait around the Cape with mackerel, river herring and pollock all attracting larger bass. Fishing has been good for larger bass off Halibut Point and Thacher’s with live lined bait and tube and worm rigs working well. Fishing has also been good from Good Harbor and Niles Beach and mackerel have been close enough to shore for surfcasters to get in on the live lining action. Bass Rocks and the Annisquam continue to give up nice fish with larger fish taking eels in the Annisquam at night. The Essex area has also been fishing well, especially for Kayakers exploring the marshes. Party boats have been getting into big Cod.

Ipswich: (4 hooks) Mackerel have been in and out of Ipswich Bay and bigger bass continue to show up. Bass to forty pounds have been taking live-lined mackerels and that really is the best way to nail a cow. Of course fly fishermen and spin casters are still doing well in the rivers and from the beaches.

Newbury: (4 hooks) The Parker River continues to yield bass, some over 30 pounds as river herring are still being chased. Anglers using herring pattern flies as well as broken back swimming lures have done well. Fishing from the beach 1 at the NWR continues to be good for both bait and spin fishermen.

Newburyport / Plum Island: (4 hooks) Flounder catches are up around the Port as these tasty fish have been taken from the mouth of the Merrimack down past the Reservation beaches. Anglers are even taking some flounder from the beach. The beachfront has also been good for bait chunkers as cut mackerel and clams have been working well for fish to twenty pounds. Bass continue to be taken around Joppa Flats by both wade fishermen and those in boats. Plum Island Point has been delivering good numbers of bass to those willing to brave the combat style fishing that is often the case at the Point. Party boats report consistent Cod action for patrons.

Salisbury, MA: (3 hooks) I made a point to try the beachfront in Salisbury this week and ended up with several schoolies in a 30 minute span at Dawn near the old pavilion. White six-inch sluggos were my weapon of choice. Anglers continue to do well in the Merrimack from the shores of the State Reservation.

Seacoast, NH: (3 hooks) Mackerel have made it to the granite state and anglers able to fill the live-well have done well from the mouth of the Piscataqua all the way into Great Bay. Hampton and Seabrook have also seen good numbers of bass and flounder continue to be a good target from Rye and Odiorne Point.

TIP OF THE WEEK:

Change out your Treble Hooks: Treble hooks are really more trouble than they are worth. I switch out my trebles for single hooks, especially on larger lures, to make releasing the fish easier and limiting the hooks that I can sink into my hand or fingers as a fish moves around during hook removal. I find that the single hooks also make the lures swim truer.