Fish On!: A tale of two tournaments

This past Father’s Day weekend saw two striper tournaments, both with fantastic results, letting us all know that there are certainly some big bass in our area! The Annual Boston Harbor Striper Shootout, as well as the Annual Fox Hill Yacht Club Striper Tourney, saw many fish weighed in, with quite a few tipping the scales at over 30 pounds! Most of these big girls were caught on, no surprise, live mackerel. Mackerel typically stay with us from about Mother’s Day to Father’s Day each year, with the past two years being out of the ordinary as they stayed with us for much of the season. With any luck, we might see them into July this year. Fishing remains great, and with a push of big stripers coming through the Cape Cod Canal last week, fishing should only get better as we move into late June. With this beautiful weather we’ve had, it’s a great time to get out and cast a line!Here is a look at our areas:Boston HarborStriper fishing continues to gain momentum in the Harbor, with bigger fish arriving daily. Fishermen Eric MacDonald, Sean MacDonald and Angelina Misuraca won last weekend’s Boston Harbor Striper Shootout with a 45.5-inch hefty striper. Many more were weighed in that were close to that, with most taken on live mackerel. Tomo from Bob’s Bait Shack in Winthrop reports the fishing as “Good to very good in the Harbor.” Mackerel are being jigged up still around the Outer Islands, mostly tinkers (small, 5-6-inch mackerel) out by the Brewsters, and have accounted for bass in the 30-pound range. Live macks are still the way to go for those cow stripers in the area, unless you come across a school of pogies. Pogies are one of the best baits for big stripers almost any time you can find them. They’ve been reported in the early mornings at Wollaston Beach, Quincy, as well as Crystal Cove, Winthrop.Lynn/NahantIf there’s any question whether or not there’s jumbo stripers around Lynn, just ask the folks over at the Fox Hill Yacht Club on the Saugus River. Last weekend, the Annual Fox Hill Yacht Club Striper Tourney went off with huge success. Peter Rancourt reports that more than 120 fishermen participated in this event, with all having had a great time. Many bass in the 30-35-pound class were weighed in, but top honors went to angler Ken Howland with his first-place 43.58-pound cow striper! In the Youth Division, 7-year-old Alex Fondulis took first place with a beautiful 30.39-pound bass. Not only did Alex win the Youth Division, he also won the Richard O. Holt Perennial Trophy, awarded each year to the youth who catches the largest bass on both days of the tourney. Well done, Alex!Salem/MarbleheadSquid is the word around here! They’re reportedly everywhere, and bass are right there with them, as squid are a favorite food for them. Mackerel have come back in with some numbers to them. Last week they were scarce, possibly from the bluefish that have begun trickling into the area, but are back now at their regular haunts. Use a sabiki rig with a diamond jig or a crippled herring on the end to catch them. Look for macks out between Baker’s and Misery Islands, as well as the Salem Willows and Beverly Piers. The area between Jubilee Yacht Club and the Beverly Pier has had them recently also. Surface feeds popped up in Salem Sound this week, with anglers having no problem catching bass from 30-45 inches on live mackerel and topwater plugs. Look for the birds to find the fish.Cape Ann/NewburyportFishing is in full swing around Cape Ann. Gloucester Harbor is reportedly stuffed with mackerel, with one report stating, “You can almost walk across them” in the harbor. With the mackerel are a slew of stripers in the 30-34-inch range, feasting on them, and they haven’t been hard to catch. On the contrary, the crew up at Surfland Bait and Tackle report that the mackerel have become scarce around Newburyport, most likely due to the bluefish showing up. The Merrimack has been full of weeds lately, and big surf, making it tough to fish. The kayak