Fish On!: 50-pound bass in North Shore waters!

Whoever said that 50-pound stripers are rare north of the Cape should talk to Boston Harbor Captain Russ Burgess. Each year, it seems that he manages to break the much-sought-after 50 mark consistently, and he did it again last week. Almost twice. Another mammoth striper was taken by an angler fishing from the beach last Saturday night on Plum Island. And to top that, tuna were reported crashing bait on the surface around Graves Light one morning last week. Add the bluefish that arrived in our waters this week, the pogies reported in Boston Harbor this week, and it’s just a moveable feast! Now’s the time to get out there and wet a line; the biggest fish of your life could be only a cast away!Here’s a look at our areas:Boston HarborRight now, Boston Harbor means monster stripers. I got an email from local fisherman/On The Water Magazine writer Ron Powers a few days ago. Ron told me about Burgess, who continually catches the fabled 50-pound striper year after year. Well, Russ did it again last Friday, one day before the Boston Harbor Striper shootout, catching a massive 50-pound striper in the pouring rain on a big 10-inch swimming plug. The next day, he would catch a 49, and take top honors in the tournament. Quite a feat! So the harbor is definitely worth fishing right now. Look for topwater surface feeds in the mornings, with the mass of birds giving away the fish.Lynn/NahantThis week, I’ve talked to two friends who have been clobbering bass in Lynn Harbor. The harbor has been “on fire” with blitzing bass and small blues in the mix. While the bass have been on the smaller side, Nahant has seen bass to 38 inches reported this week. Mackerel are still hanging off the front of Nahant, and despite smaller numbers elsewhere, there seems to be no problem for guys filling their livewells. The Tube N Worm rig has been working great this week for the kayak crowd along the beaches, and Lynn Beach, particularly Red Rock, has seen solid striper action. A 47-inch bass was taken there this week, caught on a chunk.Salem/MarbleheadNo shortage of fish here! Salem Harbor has been the site of more blitzing bass almost every morning this week. The fly fishing crowd had a ball on Monday morning, catching striper after striper in a middle Harbor blitz that lasted four hours. Most fish were in the 24-inch range. Stripers in the 20-pound range, or about 38 inches, were taken around Misery and Bakers Islands this week, and Salem fisherman Matt Scialdone caught a monster 35-inch bluefish near Children’s Island one morning this week, as well as a mix of bass in the 35-inch range. Nice day of fishing!Cape Ann/NewburyportThe folks at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island report, “Big fish are back!” Last Saturday night, one of their patrons caught a huge striper that taped out at 50 inches, taken on chunk mackerel off the beach along the oceanfront. Aside from that, the shop has been weighing in stripers recently from 15-28 pounds. Seaworms and chunk mackerel from the beaches have been working the best, but trolled parachute rigs and SP minnows have been doing damage as well. The guys at First Light Anglers in Essex report a steady pick of fish. Bass in the high 20’s have been taken at the mouth of both the Annisquam and Essex Rivers, and the rocks around Gloucester/Rockport are seeing good action with blitzing bass in the mornings.The Bottom LineThere sure are a lot of big fish around. Not to mention the tuna that were reported as close as Graves Light last week. If you’re going out this weekend, you really can’t go wrong, unless you forget to bring wire leaders and run into a school of bluefish! That can prove costly to one’s tackle box, as their teeth, as many of you know, are razor sharp, and will cut through the toughest mono leaderline with ease. Check out Lynn Harbor in the morning this weekend. Chances are, there’ll be blitzing fish and plenty of action. But as always, live mackerel are the go-to baits right now. And with these 50-pound bass in