Fish On!: Fishing to show appreciation

This past Saturday, a truly noble event was held in Marblehead. Maddie’s Angling Club, along with Raytheon and the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead, held a saltwater fishing day for the Wounded Warrior Project. Almost 50 local veterans fished this event, and with great success. Many fish were caught, with bass to 30 pounds being weighed in! 43 boats immediately volunteered for this event, and it goes to show the quality of people that we fish with and around on a daily basis. When I heard about what those guys organized, I was proud both of our servicemen, as well as those fishermen. Well done! Well, it seems those guys in Marblehead fared better than we did in the Lynn area this week, as this past week saw many local anglers scratching their heads, wondering where all the fish are. And I’ve been one of them! While the North Shore has been slow lately, Boston Harbor has seen a somewhat slow but steady pick of bass. The nighttime is still the time to be out, but as the water temperature drops, as it has been, fishing should really pick up again, both day and night. We’re still in that doldrum period, where live bait seems like the only producer in town come nightfall. So grab a bucket of eels, or snag those live pogies that are all throughout the area, and hit the water around sunset, because there are some huge stripers cruising the surf under the cover of darkness right now!Here’s a look at our areas:Boston HarborTomo over at Bob’s Bait Shack in Winthrop reports that last Saturday night, a surfcaster fishing Winthrop caught a trophy striper that taped out at 51 inches, and the next night got into a school of fish in the mid 40 inch range. Winthrop is the place to be right now, having the 3 main ingredients for stripers: Structure, Current, and Bait. Pogies are reportedly all along the side of Deer Island, particularly the Presidents Road area. The outer islands are fishing well at night also, but the focus should be on Winthrop.Lynn/NahantOur area has been dead as a doornail. Few stripers are being caught from sunup till sundown, mostly on tube n worm and umbrella rigs. The bait crowd on Revere Beach reported a slow week, as well as the Red Rock crew on Lynn Beach. Pogies were snagged inside Lynn Harbor this week by the Heritage State Park. Mackerel are all but gone in the Nahant area, as bluefish have moved in and scattered them to the winds. Look for our area to pick up within the next 2 weeks.Salem/MarbleheadMonday morning the kayak crowd reported a fantastic topwater blitz that lasted for a few hours in both Salem and Beverly Harbors. Mostly stripers in the mid 20-inch range, but nonstop action. Mackerel have been making quick appearances in the early mornings out by Misery and Bakers Islands this week, but then nowhere to be found by mid-morning. If you can find them, they’re always a top bait for stripers. Bluefish are coming in more and more, and those that did find macks this week, quickly had many of them chomped in half by those wolfpacks of blues that are zipping around.Cape Ann/NewburyportSame thing here, blues, blues, and more blues! All around Gloucester and Rockport, reports of bluefish are flooding in. The folks up at Surfland Bait and Tackle report a slow, steady pick of stripers, with one 30-pounder being weighed in this week, caught on the oceanfront on clams. Other than that, it’s been bluefish off the beaches. The Joppa Flats nighttime crowd reported bluefish on the flats, turning their live eels into cigar butts fast. The water temp has really dropped this week up there, which should light up the fishing anytime now.The Bottom LineWith water temps dropping, look for fishing to improve within the next two weeks. In the meantime, there are some quality stripers cruising close to the beaches come nightfall. If it’s that trophy striper you’re after this weekend, try throwing live eels at night into the surf around Winthrop. Lynn and Revere beaches are always great options for eels as well, and with any luck,