Fish On!: Fishing, like weather, heating up!

June is a great month to be a fisherman in New England. The options are plenty, the weather is beautiful, and the fish are biting! At this early point in the season, schoolie stripers are staking claim to backwaters, rivers, and estuaries, while larger fish are taking up residence in their summer haunts along the oceanfront. This week the reports were great. A push of bigger bass moved in, and some nice fish were taken in North Shore waters. Live mackerel seemed to have been the common denominator among those fishermen catching the larger fish. Mackerel, which typically are with us from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day, are all over the North Shore right now, and anglers are hoping that this season will be like the past few, and our beloved macks will stay for most of the season again! These mackerel have attracted the attention of keeper-sized stripers, and like the weather lately, things are heating up!Here’s a look at our areas:Boston HarborThe 15th Annual Boston Harbor Striper Shootout will take place on Saturday, June 15. If you haven’t fished this event, it’s a great, family atmosphere tournament that supports a noble cause. Proceeds from the tourney go to The Soldier’s Home in Chelsea. For more information, you can call Pete over at Fishing Finatics in Everett, or go to www.stripershootout.com. Fishing in the Harbor is steady right now. There are stripers throughout the harbor, with larger fish on the mackerel schools at the mouth. Flounder fishing has really dropped off. Reports lately all say that you’ve got to put in work to find limits. On the plus side, Tautog fishing is heating up, and not only are they tough fighters, they’re also delicious!Lynn/NahantOur area has been good this week. Reports from the Red Rock crowd on Lynn Beach were positive, with many bass in the 28-32 inch range taken on seaworms. Point of Pines at the mouth of the Saugus River was a hot spot this week, with good action reported in the mornings on topwater pencil poppers. Nahant has been particularly good this past week, with larger fish in the 36-42 inch range being reported, mostly taken on live mackerel. The mackerel are still all over Nahant’s East Point, but reports were that it took a little more time finding them than it has in the past two weeks. Lynn Harbor reportedly held a ton of “micro’s” this week, schoolies in the 10-15 inch range chasing small baitfish. On Tuesday, Revere Beach was reported to be on fire. One angler reported, “Stripers were beaching themselves trying to get the baitfish! All bass in the 30 inch range.” Things are looking good in our area.Salem/MarbleheadOnce again, live macks were the ticket to bigger stripers this week out around the islands. Reports were that the macks were harder to find there as well. Out around the islands, when macks couldn’t be found, anglers found them on the way to Salem Harbor, and were rewarded with bass from 32-38 inches. Chunk mackerel and herring worked around the rocks of Marblehead, with Castle Rock being mentioned in a few reports, and bass from 30-36 inches were taken there. The Danvers River is loaded with smaller bass, and the Kernwood Bridge is a good place to pick away at them at night under the lights.Cape Ann/NewburyportThe Essex River is loaded with bass, and Crane’s Beach was a hotspot this week. I talked to the folks up at Surfland Bait on Plum Island a few days ago, and they report the fishing is “Hot!” Parking lot 1 on the Parker River Wildlife Refuge has been on fire lately, and catches of 30 schoolies in two hours has not been uncommon. Fish from 34-38 inches were mixed in as well. Daiwa SP Minnows, Ron Z’s, and seaworms have all been working terrific. Joppa Flats is starting to heat up for the kayak crowd, with bass in the 18-20 pound range. My friend Jay Ludwig caught quite the surprise a few nights ago on Joppa. After picking away at schoolies, he hooked a “monster” and got taken for a “Nantucket Sleigh Ride” on his kayak. When he finally landed the beast, he was s