Fish On!: September: Historically best month of the year for fishing

More than 50 years ago, Ernest Hemingway wrote that September is the month of the Great Fish, and that anyone can be a fisherman in May. He may have been talking about giant marlin that show up in the Gulf Stream off Cuba each fall, as opposed to smaller fish in the spring, but the same can be applied to striper fishing in the Northeast to this day. September is the month that we fishermen usually take our biggest bass of the year. This is because of the Fall Run, a magical, extraordinary event that takes place each year on the striper coast. Sometime in the first few weeks of September, Mother Nature flicks on a switch that tells stripers, bluefish, and a host of other fishes that it’s almost time to migrate south to fertile spawning grounds for the winter. And for a solid month or so, bass, blues and tuna begin to feed with reckless abandon in preparation for their long migrations South, and this makes for what is usually the best fishing of the year. So as Tropical Storm Irene has left local anglers scratching their heads, wondering where all the bass are, we should soon find out as we get into September and the fishing suddenly explodes!Here’s a look at our areas:Boston HarborBoston’s Inner Harbor is still experiencing a puzzling lack of our beloved striped bass, but the bluefishing has certainly made up for it! Blues are all over the harbor, particularly from Castle Island, to the Logan Airport runway pier, out past Deer Island, and right to Graves Light. Topwater bluefish blitzes have been the norm this week in the mornings and late afternoons, with smaller bass mixed in. Topwater plugs and metals like the Hopkins, Deadly Dicks, and Crippled Herring are the go-to lures for these marauding packs of yellow-eyed bluefish! For bigger bass, look to the Outer Harbor Islands with live pogies and live eels when the sun goes down. Huge stripers are being reported from the tuna grounds of Stellwagen Bank, and will hopefully move inshore as we get into September.Lynn/NahantSame story here, lots of bluefish are providing local anglers with plenty to talk about, as our area has seen some impressive surface feeds this week, thanks to the blues and all the juvenile herring, spike mackerel, and silversides we’ve had come in. Look to the mouth of Lynn Harbor and down the stretch of Revere Beach around sunset to find them. Reports of decent bass to 43 inches have come in from the Nahant area from sunset on with live eels. Ron Powers, writer for OnTheWater magazine, and local “striper sharpie,” reports that fluke fishing is still pretty good in the Pines River. Bucktail jigs with squid or mackerel strips will do the trick. We’re still waiting for that big push of large bass to return from waters to our north, as fishermen around Kittery and Saco are hammering them at the moment. Shouldn’t be long!Salem/MarbleheadThe go-to spots in this area like Singing Beach, Castle Rock, Salem and Beverly Harbors have been giving up schoolie-sized bass, but the fishing is decent. Chunk baits such as mackerel, clams, and herring have been producing this week. Topwater bluefish blitzes have been popping up inside Salem Harbor and all around Marblehead this week and providing great action for fishermen searching for stripers. Look for the birds to give away the fish. Surprisingly, mackerel have been reported “post-Irene” around Bakers’ and Misery Islands, and the sabiki rig has been doing the trick catching them. Live macks are still a great way to bag a trophy bass if you can find them.Cape Ann/NewburyportCape Ann is stuffed with bluefish! Blues in the 9-14 pound range are patrolling the coast of Gloucester and aren’t hard to find. The striper bite was pretty good this week for folks slinging eels from 3-6 a.m. around Cape Ann, with bass to 30 pounds taken. The folks over at Surfland Bait on Plum Island reported great fishing from the Beachfront this week. Clams seem to be the bait of choice, as anglers weighed in bass to 35 pounds, and report that the are